Lobos Post Sixth Place Finish at National Invitational

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.