New Mexico Advances to NCAA Men’s Golf Championship
SALEM, S.C. –– The New Mexico men’s golf team advanced to the NCAA Championship by capping a historic performance Wednesday at the NCAA Salem Regional. The Lobos shot 17-under during the third round at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls to finish in fourth place at 42-under, earning one of the five tickets to the finals.
The NCAA Championship will be held May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., and will feature a field 30 teams, the top five finishers from each of this week’s six regionals. The Lobos will be making their 43rd overall appearance at the NCAA Championship, and first since 2017.
Joining the Lobos in Scottsdale from the Salem Regional are Georgia Tech, Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas A&M. Georgia Tech won the regional at 53-under, with Arkansas second at 45-under, North Carolina third at 43-under and the Lobos in fourth at 42-under. Clemson and Texas A&M tied for the fifth and final qualifying spot, with the Aggies advancing in a playoff.
The Lobos score of 42-under set a school record for the lowest 54-hole total in Lobo men’s golf history. It broke the previous record of 35-under set two weeks ago at the Mountain West Championship. Overall, four of the eight lowest 54-hole totals in program history have come during the 2022-23 season.
“The guys played great all week,” said head coach Glen Millican. “There are a lot of scoring holes out here, and we did a good job of taking advantage of those. Things just came together in round one and round three, and we played solid yesterday. There have been a lot of great teams and players come through UNM, so it’s really impressive to break the 54-hole scoring record in two straight events. It shows that these guys can really light it up. To do that is one thing, but to do it when it really matters the most makes this team special. We played the back nine first today and that got us off to a fast start and gave us some momentum. This is the toughest tournament of the year and if you can have ut under control down the stretch, it’s a great feeling.”
The Lobos opened the day in tied for third place at 25-under, after setting the school record for the lowest NCAA round on Monday at 16-under before shooting 9-under in the second round. In the final round, the Lobos took advantage of the back nine, making the turn at 12-under before completing the round at 17-under, setting a new school record for a NCAA event.
New Mexico was led on Wednesday by Matthew Watkins, who shot a 7-under 65, his lowest round of his collegiate career. Brandon Shong shot a final round 67 and Albert Boneta posted a final round 68. Boneta was the low Lobo for the week, finishing T-6th on the individual leaderboard at 12-under. Carson Herron shot a 1-under 71 on Wednesday, while Bastien Amat shot even par 72.
The field of 30 will play the first three rounds of the NCAA Championship May 26-28 at Grayhawk Golf Club. The top 15 teams will make the cut and play the final round of stroke play on May 29. The top eight teams from stroke play will advance to match play, which will crown the national champion. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be May 30 and the final on May 31. Golf Channel will televise the action live for the final three days (Monday-Wednesday).