UNM men's golf punches ticket to NCAA Championship
May 15—The New Mexico men's golf team will play in the NCAA Championship for a second straight season.
The Lobos earned their 44th overall appearance in the championship with a top five finish at the NCAA West Lafayette Regional. UNM shot a 1-over in the final round Wednesday to finish fifth at 2-under over 54 holes at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana
The NCAA Championship will be held May 24-29 at OMNI La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California, and will feature 30 teams — the top five finishers from each of this week's six regionals.
UNM is ranked No. 23 in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll.
"This team is good and we've had a great year," said head coach Jake Harrington. "We have been top 20 all season and to come out here and validate our success by going to nationals is an honor. These guys are a special group I look forward to seeing what they can do on that stage next week."
Joining the Lobos at La Costa from the West Lafayette Regional are Vanderbilt, Purdue, Florida and Arizona. Vanderbilt won the regional at 24-under, with host Purdue second at 11-under, Florida third at 4-under and Arizona fourth at 3-under.
The Lobos opened the day in fourth place at 3-under, five shots ahead of sixth place. The margin grew to as many as 12 shots during the round before New Mexico advanced by a 10-shot margin.
New Mexico was led on Wednesday by Bastien Amat, who shot a 5-under 67, to finish the tournament at 6-under, tied for second and one shot off the individual lead. Matthew Watkins shot a 2-under 70 on Wednesday to finish in the top 10 at 3-under overall. Albert Boneta shot a 73 in the final round, while Carson Adams shot 79 and Carson Herron shot 81.
"We had to deal with the weather early on, but battled today," Harrington said. "This is always a stressful day, but Bastien made it less stressful with how he played. He is a big time player and one of the best in the world for a reason. He steps up in big moments."
The field of 30 will play the first three rounds of the NCAA Championship May 24-26. The top 15 teams will make the cut and play the final round of stroke play on May 27. 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 28 and the final on May 29. Golf Channel will televise the action live for the final three days (Monday-Wednesday).
UNM missed the cut at last year's NCAA Championship, finishing in 25th place.
