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A smile came to Bastien Amat’s face when the University of New Mexico freshman was indoors with the media, away from the wind and rain on the UNM Championship Golf Course on Tuesday afternoon.
The joy wasn’t about being dry, rather it was about taking a moment to realize that he shot the low round for the day, a personal-best 6-under-par 66 to match Oregon State senior Spencer Tibbits in the second round of the NCAA Regional at the UNM Championship south course.
Amat, the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, expressed excitement that he put all of his game together – mostly his putting came through amid challenging conditions on the back nine.
Lobos tied for third at NCAA Regional at UNM Championship GC
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Sam Choi, a South Korean who became a junior golfing star in California, has lived up to his promise and then some, says University of New Mexico men’s golf coach Glen Millican. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Journal Photo)
Sam Choi definitely believes in the University of New Mexico men’s golf team for which he plays.
The Lobos have great momentum entering the NCAA Southwest Regional, scheduled for the UNM Championship Golf Course Monday through Wednesday, so Choi, New Mexico’s No. 1, is setting some lofty goals, higher than the team’s No. 5 seed.
“Me and my buddies,” he said, referring to his teammates, “we’ve set our goals. It’s a top -three finish. If we just play decent golf here, we’ll probably finish top three.”
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UNM men’s golfers (from left) Matthew Watkins, Bastien Amat , Brandon Shong, Albert Boneta and Sam Choi hang out at UNM Championship Golf Course, site of one of the NCAA regional tournaments next Monday-Wednesday. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Journal)
Sam Choi, Albert Boneta, Matthew Watkins, Brandon Shong and Bastien Amat of the University of New Mexico men’s golf team were in a playful mood putting on the practice green at UNM Championship Golf Course on Wednesday morning.
Before Choi, Boneta and Amat met with the media for interviews they competed against each other with the loser regulated to doing up to 20 pushups depending on the wager. These are the Lobos, the fifth-seeded team at the NCAA Regional that takes place on their home course Monday through Wednesday. They are loose and confident, believing they are playing their best golf of the season.
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It was a Lobo party at the U.S. Open Qualifying event at UNM Championship Golf Course on Monday, as three UNM men’s golfers took the top three spots Brandon Shong, Bastien Amat, Matthew Watkins to advance to the June 7 sectional qualifier and one step closer to the U.S. Open (June 17-20 at Torrey Pines).
What’s more, two former Lobos Gustavo Moranto (3-under 69) and Sam Saunders (70) took the two alternate spots. Saunders beat former UNM golfer and Albuquerque Academy alumnus Chandler Smith-Stenson and Cibola standout Aiden Krafft on the first playoff hole.
“That’s crazy,” said Shong, who shot a personal-best 6-under 66 in his U.S. Open Qualifying debut. “We’ve all been playing well. It’s nice to get all of us into the (sectional) qualifier. It feels good.”
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