‘We want to design rings next week’: UNM men’s golf looking forward to Mountain West Championship

If all goes according to plan, Jake Harrington knows what New Mexico men’s golf will be doing in about a week’s time.

“We want to design rings next week,” UNM’s men’s golf second-year coach said Tuesday. “That’s what we want to do.”

Doing so would mean a win in this weekend’s three-round Mountain West Men’s Golf Championship in Creswell, Oregon, the Lobos’ final event before the NCAA postseason begins.

Playing at Emerald Valley Golf Club, UNM will roll out a lineup featuring senior Carson Herron, junior Mesa Falleur, sophomore Wyatt Provence, sophomore Oliver Cage and freshman Clark Sonnenberg, with junior Alvaro Portillo as the first alternate. The Lobos won their last conference title in 2021, and have claimed victory a league-best eight times.

Ranked in the NCAA’s top 50, UNM will likely receive an at-large bid if they don’t win the conference championship. But after narrowly losing to San Diego State in a playoff last year, Harrington said the team has a “chip on our shoulder” despite losing three players from its primary lineup in 2024.

“Maybe that gets rid of some scar tissue as well,” he added. “But Carson Herron’s still going out there as our senior. He’s been there before, he’s been in (this) situation, he knows what to expect, and we’re going to expect to win.”

The reigning Mountain West Golfer of the Week, Herron shot a career-low 12-under earlier this month to tie for the individual lead at the end of the ASU Thunderbird Collegiate, eventually falling to Arizona State’s Pongsapak Laopakdee in a playoff. The senior has won two tournaments this season, the most of any Lobo.

Referencing one of just two seniors on the team, Harrington praised Herron’s consistency this season and how well he’s been striking the ball lately.

“If the putts drop, he’s got a chance to win,” he added. “Same thing with Mesa Falleur — (he’s) had a bunch of top 10s. Those two guys are our horses, and we need them to run.

“And if they do that, we gotta great chance to win.”

A University of Missouri-Kansas City transfer, Falleur is UNM’s highest-ranked golfer nearing the end of his first season with the Lobos. While this week represents his first Mountain West championship, the Muskogee, Oklahoma native has seen success in the postseason, notably winning last year’s Summit League individual championship by three strokes.

After finishing ninth at the Thunderbird, Falleur said he believes his game has been trending in the right direction and could be a fit for Emerald Valley.

“I’m getting a little bit more comfortable on the greens — speed of the greens is normally the weakest part of my game,” the junior said Tuesday. “But I’ve been holing more putts, getting a little bit more aggressive (and) that’s really good to see. I think that’s going to translate well in Oregon.”

“I think we’re getting hot at the right time,” Harrington added. “The guys have great momentum. And, you know, we’re excited about what we can do this week.”

And maybe next week, too.

C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP: In Texarkana, Arkansas, New Mexico State (+3) is in sixth place after the second round of the Conference USA men’s golf championship.

After carding a two-under 70 on Tuesday, NMSU’s Aidan Thomas is tied for second place on the individual leaderboard at four-under. Javier Delgadillo (-2) is also in the top ten following his second round even-par 72.

The championship’s final round of stroke play begins Wednesday before shifting to match play Thursday.