Men’s Golf Prepares for Nationals on Home Course
The NMJC golf team is seeking their first national championship in program history this week in Hobbs, NM at the par-71 Rockwind Community Links. The 72-hole tournament will run from May 14-17.
The T-Birds will have the most preparation out of any team in the field due to Rockwind being NMJC's home golf course where they play nearly every day.
The Thunderbirds come into the national tournament as the No. 4 team in the country behind No. 1 Odessa, No. 2 Midland, and No. 3 Indian Hills. This year they have won a school-record six times with five of the six wins coming in the spring season.
The biggest win this year was at the Colin Montgomerie - HCU Invitational in March where they defeated a field of 13 DI schools. In the fall, the team finished in fourth place at the NJCAA National Preview at Rockwind shooting 9-over par in 54 holes to fall to Odessa College (+3).
The Thunderbirds will be led by sophomore Kalle Svederman. Svederman has worked all the way up to the No. 1 spot after a tremendous spring for the T-Birds. The Swede has four top-5 finishes, two runner-up finishes in his last two tournaments, and one win in the spring.
Svederman was the fifth man in the NJCAA National Preview at Rockwind where he played as the final counting score during the tournament. He went 71-76-75 to shoot 9-over par for the week as he placed T-46.
Svederman ended the season ranked No. 15 in the Clippd NJCAA individual standings. He will tee off at 8:33 a.m. MDT on Tuesday, May 14.
Travis Robbie will slide into the No. 2 role for the second straight season at the national championship. Robbie has gotten hot at the right time for the T-Birds. His last three finishes are T-4, T-4, and T-5 for a total score of 18-under over his last eight rounds.
Robbie has played Rockwind well this year. He shot 71-68-72 in the NJCAA National Preview to finish in a tie for fifth place at 2-under par for the tournament. The Aussie finished second at the Thunderbird Invitational, and T-4 at the WJCAC Qualifier to make it three top-5 finishes when playing Rockwind. Overall, Robbie has eight top-5 finishes this year, but his first win this season has eluded him.
Robbie will be ranked No. 14 in the country headed into the national championship. The sophomore will tee off at 8:24 a.m. MDT.
The spring newcomer Elias Pettersson fills the No. 3 spot for NMJC. Pettersson has made the most of his short stint at NMJC this far. He won the second tournament he played in at NMJC on the home course at the Thunderbird Invitational. There he shot 69-71 (-2) to earn medalist honors as an individual.
Pettersson has been a part of the team score the last six tournaments. He won his second tournament of the year at TankLogix & Tall City Exploration Collegiate in Midland, Texas. There he shot 66-70-68 (-6).
Petterson has won two tournaments overall this season, placed top-15 in 6-of-8 events, and is the highest ranked individual player at NMJC in the No. 6 spot in the final Clippd standings. The freshman will tee off at 8:15 a.m. MDT.
The fourth member of the lineup for NMJC is the South African Matt Walters. Walters has been steady the entire spring semester. Walters did not play in the NJCAA National Preview in the fall, but he did come into form this spring.
Walters has held down the fourth spot for NMJC for most of the spring. In the WJCAC Qualifier at Rockwind, he finished T-9 shooting 73-70 for a 1-over par 36-hole total. Walters is ranked No. 55 in the final individual Clippd standings. The sophomore will tee off at 8:06 a.m. MDT.
Andrew Park holds the fifth and the final spot in the lineup. Parky had a phenomenal fall that included five top-11 finishes. However, he did struggle at the NJCAA National Preview where he shot 10-over par to finish in a tie for 55th place. In the spring, it has not come as easy for Park.
Park does have three top-10 finishes, but he is still searching for his previous form. The Australian native played the WJCAC Qualifier well in Round 1 with a tournament-leading 68, but a few bad breaks led him to finish his round double-bogey-bogey-bogey on his way to a final-round 78 (+7) and a T-21 finish. Park is ranked No. 27 in the final Clippd standings. The freshman will tee off at 7:57 a.m. MDT.
Henry Drake is the sixth man and substitute in the T-Bird lineup. The Englishman could be inserted in the lineup if an injury were to occur or if NMJC decides to look for a fresh spark in the lineup.
Drake has played Rockwind well in competition as he has finished T-7 (+5) and T-12 (+2) in two starts. Drake is ranked No. 33 in the country individually.
NMJC earned postseason awards Monday night. Freshman Elias Pettersson was named an NJCAA Division I PING All-America Honorable Mention. Kalle Svederman, Travis Robbie and Elias Pettersson earned South Central All-District Team honors.
Click here to see live stats for the 2024 NJCAA DI Men's Golf Championship and follow live on NMJC men's golf's Instagram @nmjc_mgolf.