ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –– The No. 22 New Mexico men’s golf team concluded its lone home event of the season Saturday with the final round of the 70th annual William H. Tucker Invitational. The Lobos finished the event in second place while freshman Emil Albers took the individual crown in his second collegiate event.
Albers, who was playing as an individual, finished at 13-under, a UNM 54-hole scoring record for a freshman, to post a one-shot victory. He becomes just the second freshman in the 70-year history of the Tucker to win, joining Stanford’s Tiger Woods in 1994. The German posted rounds of 67-68-68 to become the first Lobo freshman to win since 2011-12 when Victor Perez was victorious at Texas A&M’s Aggie Invitational.
As a team, the Lobos shot even par for the third round to finish the tournament at 18-under, earning runner-up honors. Long Beach State won the title with a 23-under title after shooting 11-under on Saturday. Colorado and USC tied for third at 17-under, while UTEP was fifth at 12-under. UNM’s second place finish marks the first time since 2004-05 that the Lobos have opened the season with consecutive top-two finishes.
“It is always fun to play at home, but it is also tough to defend your home course,” said head coach Jake Harrington. “At the end of the day, we gave ourselves a chance to win. We started the day with the lead and unfortunately we had a tough early stretch. Holes 4-8 are some of the toughest on the course and we didn’t get through it cleanly. I think we were 8-over on No. 7 and No. 8 and that won’t get it done at Tucker, especially when there are so many other good teams in the field. It is disappointing, but I’m proud of how the guys battled back late in the round. We fell down to fifth or sixth place and played the last few holes great to climb back to solo second.”
Albers wasn’t the only Lobo freshman in the top 10 of the individual leaderboard as Thayer Plewe finished T-7th at 6-under after a final round 73. Mesa Falleur shot the low-round of the day for New Mexico, a 2-under 70, to finish at 3-under overall. Johnnie Clark, Wyatt Provence and Oliver Cage all finished the tournament at 1-under, after final rounds of 71, 74 and 75, respectively.
“Emil is a great player and was one of the first guys who committed here when I came to New Mexico,” said Harrington. “I coached his older brother, so I have known him for a long time and he is such a talented player. When he stays in control of his game, he can play with anyone. He is a great young player who I am excited to see what he can accomplish over the next four years.”
The Lobos return to action Sept. 29-30 with The Windon Memorial in Chicago, hosted by Northwestern.
Emil Albers Wins William H. Tucker Invitational Individual Title
