LAS VEGAS, Nev. –– The No. 19 New Mexico men’s golf team concluded play Tuesday at the Southern Highlands Collegiate, one of the most prestigious regular season events of the season. The Lobos shot even par during the third round at Southern Highlands Golf Club and climbed up the leaderboard for a T-8th finish among a field that included five of the top 10 and eight of the top 20 teams in the nation.
Top-ranked Virginia won the event with a 15-under total, one shot ahead of No. 2 Auburn at 14-under. No. 12 Illinois (4-under) and No. 4 Texas (1-under) were the only other teams to finish below par.
Johnnie Clark led the Lobos’ charge on Tuesday, shooting a 4-under round of 68 to climb into the individual top-15, ending the event T-14th at 1-under. Wyatt Provence also earned a top-20 finish, shooting even par on Tuesday to finish T-18th at 1-over. Mesa Falleur finished at 3-over after a final round 1-over 73. Thayer Plewe shot 3-over on Tuesday while Emil Albers ended with a 7-over final round.
“We always want to know where we stand with against the top teams in the country, especially playing one of the best courses in college golf,” said head coach Jake Harrington. “Challenging conditions the first two days will test all parts of your mental and physical game. By going out first in the final round, we knew we could set the tone and people know we were ready to play. We had the biggest improvement on the leaderboard, climbing three spots among the strongest field in college golf. Rounds like this go a long way in building team confidence when we will need it most in the postseason.”
The Lobos return to action Mar. 16-17 with the Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate in Tucson.
Lobos Finish Eighth at Southern Highlands Collegiate
