PHOENIX –– The No. 20 New Mexico men’s golf team concluded its regular season schedule in grand style on Saturday, winning the ASU Thunderbird Collegiate. The Lobos shot 8-under during the final round at Papago Golf Course to finish at 32-under and earn their second team win of the season, while Johnnie Clark took home medalist honors for his first collegiate victory.
The Lobos posted a four-shot win over the tournament host, No. 9 Arizona State, snapping the Sun Devils’ three-year streak of winning their home tournament. No. 28 Long Beach State was third at 27-under, No. 48 San Diego was fourth at 24-under and No. 31 UCLA rounded out the top five at 10-under. Overall, the Lobos took home the trophy amongst a field that included seven teams ranked in the national top 50. UNM’s 32-under total was also a season-best.
Johnnie Clark, playing near his hometown of Mesa, won the individual title at 14-under for his first collegiate win. He shot 67-66-66 over the three rounds at Papago to shoot a career-best 199 and earn a three-shot win. His 199 total marked just the ninth time a Lobo shot under 200 for a 54-hole event.
Clark’s victory was the fourth individual title for a Lobo this season, as he joined Mesa Falleur (Windon Memorial, The Goodwin) and Emil Albers (William H. Tucker Intercollegiate). The four titles are the most for UNM in a season since 2013-14 when Gavin Green and Andrej Bevins combined for five titles. The last time three different Lobos won in the same season was 2008-09 with James Erkenbeck, Nick Geyer and Steve Saunders.
Falleur recorded his fifth top-10 of the season, shooting a final round 69 to finish in 8th place at 6-under. Clark Sonnenberg had his best finish of the season, T-13th at 4-under, after a 1-under final round. Wyatt Provence and Thayer Plewe each finished at 3-under to T-16th, as all five Lobos in the lineup finished in the individual top 16.
“I’m extremely proud of this group,” said head coach Jake Harrington. “We talked about needing a quick start and from shot one, round one, we were confident and attacked this course. This is a course where you can never let up, especially against a field this strong, because there is always someone who can shoot low. Personally, it is awesome to come back to Arizona, to a course where I learned to play the game as a kid, and win here at ASU. It’s great for Johnnie too, another native Arizonan, to get his first win on this course as well. It was a great way to wrap up the regular season and gives us a lot of momentum as we head into the postseason.”
The Lobos return to action May 3-5 with the Mountain West Championship, held at OMNI Tucson National in Arizona.
Lobos and Clark Victorious at ASU Thunderbird Collegiate
