Lobos Selected for NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –– The New Mexico men’s golf team was selected to participate in the NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional, as the NCAA announced the regional fields on Wednesday. The tournament will be held May 16-18 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., home course of the Honda Classic on the PGA Tour.

The Lobos are making their 29th NCAA Regional appearance since the format was adopted in 1989, having advanced to the NCAA Championships 18 times. UNM finished seventh last year while hosting the NCAA Albuquerque Regional. New Mexico last advanced to the NCAA Championships in 2017, their 42nd overall NCAA Championship appearance.

The 14 teams competing in the Palm Beach Gardens Regional are Vanderbilt, Florida, Notre Dame, Florida State, Purdue, New Mexico, South Florida, Little Rock, Charleston, Indiana, San Diego, Davidson, Loyola (Md.) and Charleston Southern. The top five teams at the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships, held May 27-June 1 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The top individual (not on advancing teams) will also advances to the NCAA Championships.

“You have to have a good year to still be playing at this point, so everybody in the field will be a quality opponent,” said head coach Glen Millican. “I’ve been to PGA National to recruit at junior tournaments and with a PGA Tour event there, it will be a good challenge for our guys. The opportunity to play a PGA Tour course in a championship setting just makes this a little more special and should be a treat for our guys to compete on a course that has so much tradition and history.”

PGA National has been home to the Honda Classic on the PGA Tour since 2007. UNM Alumnus Tim Herron, father of current Lobo freshman Carson Herron, earned his first of four career PGA Tour wins in 1996 at the Honda Classic, when it was played at nearby TPC Eagle Trace. Winners of the event at PGA National include Ernie Els, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and Justin Thomas.