VALLEJO, Calif. – Entering the final round in position to advance to the NCAA National Championships, the Western New Mexico University men’s golf team wasn’t able to hold their spot in the top five as they finished 11th after the third and final round of the South Central/West Super Regional concluded Wednesday at the par 72, 6,747 yard Hiddenbrooke Golf Course.
The Mustangs had strong opening rounds of 304 and 301, but tallied a 318 on Wednesday to post a 923 and end up in 11th. CSU-Monterey Bay continued their hold on the 20-team field posting an 887 to win by 19-strokes. Sonoma State, Chico State, Simon Fraser and West Texas A&M join CSU-Monterey Bay as the five teams to advance to the NCAA Championships. UC-Colorado Springs’ Patrick Skakel and CSU-Monterey Bay’s Ray Richards tied for the individual lead with 217’s. Skakel, along with Dallas Baptist’s Josh Aguilar advance as the two individuals.
Thomas Neve (Epsom, England/Cams Hill School/Merrist College) tried to keep the Mustangs close, as he continued to lead the way landing in the top-10 with a 223 (75-71-77) to tie for 10th. He was near the top in par-three scoring (3.07). Harry Wetton (Bedford, England/The Bedford School) posted the same final round score of 77, along with earlier rounds of 74 and 76 for a 227 to tie for 22nd. Wetton was near the top in par-five scoring (4.73). Calum Hill (Kinross, Scotland/Kinross HS) landed in a tie for 45th after opening with a 78, he rebounded with a 74 before finishing with an 80 on Wednesday for a 232. He tied teammate Neve as both made 35 pars which were tied for second-most. Deryk “Buzz” Perales opened with a 77 and then after rounds of 80 and 84 carded a 241 to tie for 80th. Rounding out the five for WNMU, Ross White (Dollar, Scotland/Kinross HS) ended up with a 255 (82-86-87) to finish in 106th.
The Mustangs finished as the top team from the RMAC just beating out Colorado School of Mines by a stroke. They also bested UC-Colorado Springs by four-strokes and Colorado Christian by 11-shots. WNMU returns their entire team from this season as Calum Hill (Kinross, Scotland/Kinross HS), Thomas Neve (Epsom, England/Cams Hill School/Merrist College), Deryk “Buzz” Perales, Ben Skinner (Hertfordshire, England/Lorretto Academy) and Daniel Young (Cheshire, England/Eaton Bank HS) will be seniors. Harry Wetton (Bedford, England/The Bedford School) will be a junior, while Ross White (Dollar, Scotland/Kinross HS) will be a sophomore. WNMU claimed their second straight RMAC Championship this season and also claimed tournament titles at the Edward Jones’ Cactus Thaw and Mustang Intercollegiate.
