United Athletic Conference

NM State's Aidan Thomas has been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Golfer of the Week for September 22 through September 28.

 

Thomas, a sophomore from Albuquerque, N.M., went into his hometown and did something that only three NM State golfers had done before him, winning the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate with a 9-under-par 207. Using a bogey-free 67 in the first round and 6-under-par 66 to take a three-shot lead into the final round, he battled tough conditions on the final day to earn medalist honors. He became the first Aggie golfer since 2017 to win an outright individual title.

 

Other nominees: California Baptist's John Hayes was the top finishing Lancer at the Nick Watney Invitational, tying for 11th place with an even-par 213 … Grand Canyon's Zac Owens set a tournament record with a 9-under-par 63 at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, finishing fourth among 99 golfers with a 12-under-par 204 … Sam Houston's Chad Sewell fired three rounds of par or better to earn a top-5 finish and lead the Bearkats to a second-place team finish at the Badger Invitational … Utah Valley's Landon Anderson finished in a tie for 12th-place at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, firing a 9-under-par 207 to lead the Wolverines.

 

With the calendar flipping to October, four teams will be in action this week, including three in Dallas. Abilene Christian, Sam Houston and UT Rio Grande Valley will all converge on the Metroplex for the Trinity Forest Invitational, hosted by SMU and beginning on Sunday. Chicago State will also be in action, teeing off on Monday at the Flyer Intercollegiate in Romeoville, Ill.

 

Seattle U's Jack Rahon holds the early lead in stroke average at 69.7 per round. Sam Houston's Chad Sewell is second at 71.0 while CBU's Eeli Kujanpaa and GCU's Sam Murphy are tied for third at 71.3. As a team, Sam Houston is tops at 287.2 followed by California Baptist (291.2) and NM State (292.0).

 

The WAC will be in a unique situation this season with two teams having earned automatic qualifications to NCAA Regionals in May. NM State will be the defending WAC champions, having won the 2021 Championship by just one stroke at Boulder Creek GC. Sam Houston also earned an automatic selection after winning the Southland Conference Championship by 10 strokes over Lamar. The Bearkats then placed fourth at the NCAA Stillwater Regional to earn a spot at the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, where SHSU tied for ninth in the team standings. 

 

On Jan. 14, the WAC announced the addition of five new schools in the upcoming years. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and Southern Utah were all offered and accepted membership invitations. With the addition, the WAC now has six schools in Texas, more than any other conference in the country, and will have three schools in Utah, also a national best. The four Texas schools joined the league on July 1, 2021 and Southern Utah will follow 365 days later, officially joining the WAC on July 1, 2022. More recently, Tarleton announced this fall its intention to revive men's golf, beginning in fall of 2022.

 

For the second straight season, the 2022 WAC Men's Golf Championship will be played at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev. Made up of three nine-hole courses, the course is considered by many to be one of the top municipal golf courses in the country. Scenic vistas, cool creeks, colorful wildflowers, and smooth beach bunkers add to the lure of this unique golf course.