UNM and NMSU men's golf both top five in respective NCAA Regionals

New Mexico men’s golf closed the first round of the 54-hole NCAA Tallahassee Regional in fourth place, carding a combined three-under 358 on Monday.

Playing at Seminole National Golf Club, Wyatt Provence led the Lobos with a 3-under 69 while Clark Sonnenberg shot a 1-under 71. Carson Herron fired an even-par 72, and Oliver Cage and Mesa Falleur each finished with a 1-over 73.

In seventh place, Provence is the only Lobo in the top 10 on the individual leaderboard; Florida State’s Luke Clanton is in sole possession of first place after shooting a 6-under 66.

UNM trails host Florida State (14 under), Notre Dame (7 under) and Ole Miss (6 under) with 36 holes remaining.

“You want to be in position, and that’s where we are after a solid first day,” head coach Jake Harrington said in a release Monday. “Wyatt played well coming down the stretch, but had an unfortunate break on the last hole. Clark, as a freshman in his first NCAA Regional, to shoot 1-under was impressive.

“You can’t win or advance on day one, but you can sure lose it on day one. We had to have a good start and we did that today and are tied for fourth.”

In the Auburn Regional, New Mexico State closed Monday in a three-way tie for fifth place with Purdue and Texas A&M. NMSU carded a combined even-par 363 at the Auburn University Club in Alabama; Aidan Thomas was the only Aggie to finish in the red, tying for third place on the individual leaderboard with a 4-under 68.

Mateo Pryan and Ethan Klose each shot a 1-over 73 while Alexandre Baudin carded a 2-over 74. Javier Delgadillo finished with a 3-over 75 as reigning national champion Auburn (13 under) took a commanding eight-stroke lead on the team leaderboard.

The top five teams from each regional will advance to the NCAA Championships (May 23-28) at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.