TUCSON, Ariz. –– The New Mexico men’s golf team concluded play at the National Invitational on Saturday with the final round at Omni Tucson National. The Lobos shot 5-under during the third round to finish at 23-under, tied for sixth place among an elite field that included nine top-30 teams.
The No. 28-ranked Lobos finished tied at 23-under with No. 25 Illinois. Second-ranked Oklahoma State won the event at 53-under, posting a 21-shot victory over No. 12 Texas at 32-under. Ninth-ranked Pepperdine was third at 28-under, top-ranked Oklahoma was fourth at 27-under and host Arizona was fifth at 26-under.
“It was another good finish for us this week,” said head coach Glen Millican. “It was similar to our finish in Vegas a few weeks ago, but we played a little better. After a little bit of a slow start today, the guys did a good job on the back nine. It was another week that we had everyone contribute and everyone continue to improve.”
Sam Choi led the Lobos with his fifth top-5 finish in eight events this season. He shot even-par 72 in the final round to finish T-5th at 11-under. Brandon Shong and Matthew Watkins tied for the low round of the day for UNM, each posting a 3-under 69. Shong finished the event at 4-under, while Watkins finished at 1-under. Bastien Amat shot 73 on Saturday to finish at 3-under, while Carson Herron shot 74 to finish at 3-over.
The Lobos will travel to South Carolina next week for the Hootie at Bulls Bay.