NMJC Men’s Golf Wins 1st National Title in Program History
The Thunderbird men's golf season culminated with their first national title on Friday, May 17 at the par-71 Rockwind Community Links in Hobbs, NM.
The T-Birds (-13) defeated Odessa College (-10) by three strokes to win a school-record seventh time this season and the programs first national championship.
The Thunderbirds shot a four-day team total of 1123 (280-293-278-272) to shatter the previous 72-hole NMJC national tournament record by 11 strokes (2018-19). The T-Birds closed the final round with a 12-under par 272, which was the low round of the tournament.
The Thunderbirds went into Round 4 in a tie for first place with Midland and Odessa at 1-under par. NMJC knew they would have to go low if they wanted to hoist the trophy by the end of the evening.
Freshman Henry Drake was the fifth man in the lineup for NMJC. He originally was the team's substitute for Andrew Park who played Round 1. Drake shot 74-70 in the second and third round and closed with the tournament-low 65 in the final round.
Drake saved his best golf for the final round of the season. The Englishman began the day with four pars and then went on to birdie the par-5 fifth hole. He made par on hole No. 6 and then went birdie-birdie-par to make the turn in 33 (-3).
A dropped shot on the tricky par-3 10th moved him down to 2-under for the day. Drake's bogey on 10 sure did fuel the fire the rest of his round. He went on to birdie three of his next four holes, which brought him to 4-under. The Thatchman, England native made birdie on the par-5 14th and the par-3 17th to put him at 6-under going into the final hole.
Drake had an opportunity to birdie the last with a downhill 18-footer, but it took a hard lip out. He went on to make the putt and turn in a career-low 6-under 65. Drake let it all out after holing the par putt on 18 and with two words "COME ON'' he let the entire course know a low number was posted.
Sophomore Travis Robbie was itching to get out there prior to his afternoon tee time. Robbie was 5-over for the tournament after posting rounds of 70-78-70.
The Aussie made a bold prediction prior to the final round that he would be even par or better for the championship by the end of the day. Fortunately, his assessment was right as he fired a final-round 66.
Robbie started his round 2-under through six holes with birdies on No. 4 and No. 6. He made back-to-back bogeys on No. 7 and No. 8 before closing his opening nine with a birdie to shoot 35 (-1).
Robbie caught fire on the back nine making birdies on No. 11, No. 13, and No. 14 to move to 4-under par in the final round. Two pars on the tough 15th and 16th holes brought the Gold Coast, Australia native to the par-3 17. Robbie would birdie the hole to move to 5-under par as he took on the 18th hole.
Trouble awaited on the 18th tee box. Robbie splashed his tee shot and would have to drop. He sat 240 yards away from the hole and chose 4-iron. From there, he pured his shot past the flag where it checked up on the right edge of the green to leave himself 25 feet for birdie down the hill. He two putted from there and would safely come in with a 5-under par 66. Robbie finished the championship in a tie for 20th place at even par.
What was so spectacular about the shot from Robbie on 18 was the fact that he was using a backup 4-iron he borrowed from teammate and fellow Aussie Jono Boediman. Following the round, he quipped that it was the best 4-iron he's ever hit. Robbie kindly signed the club after the round and gave it back to Boediman to keep as a memento.
The duo of Robbie and Drake combined for 11-under par in the final round.
Elias Pettersson was hoping to mimic the rounds of Robbie and Drake, but it did not come so easy. Pettersson's week has been a roller coaster on the scorecard. The first three rounds he shot 72-74-71 (+4).
The Swede started his day bogey-birdie and then added another square on the card on hole No. 7. Pettersson finished his opening nine at 1-over. He started his first two holes like on the front going bogey-birdie. An eagle on No. 14 brought him to red numbers at 1-under. However, he gave that shot right back on the long par-3 15th.
The freshman made par on 16 and came to the tee box on No. 17 at level par. He birdied 17 and sunk a right to left six-footer to shoot a 2-under 69 and put NMJC in the driver's seat. The T-Birds led by three shots when Pettersson turned in his card on 18. The freshman finished at 2-over par for the championship and in a tie for 26th place.
Two T-Birds remained on the golf course.
Kalle Svederman was in the group behind Pettersson. Svederman's first three rounds were 71-72-70 (E). The Swede's front nine was pretty steady. He made bogey on No. 3, birdie on No. 5, and stuffed his approach to one inch on nine to make birdie. The sophomore Central Arkansas signee hit the turn at 1-under par.
The start to the back was not going according to plan with Kalle making double bogey on No. 10. He birdied No. 14 but dropped a shot the next hole to fall back to 1-over. Svederman made pars on the next two holes to come into 18 with a birdie mindset.
His approach shot into the par-5 18th hole bounced to the right of the green and was lying in the rough on an uphill slope just short of the bunker. Nerves became a factor when he scooped his first chip two yards in the air and onto the fringe. Svederman's birdie putt missed, and it left him with a seven-footer up the hill. He hearted the par putt to give NMJC their fourth counting score as they officially led by three strokes over Odessa with one group left that had not reported their final three holes. Svederman finished the tournament at 1-over par and in a tie for 24th place.
Matt Walters was in the final pairing of the day. He shot 67-73-68 in his first three rounds. Prior to this week, Walters only had one round under par in competition at Rockwind. The final round may not have had a flurry of birdies, but it did have a few special moments that will last a lifetime.
Matt's opening nine featured a double on No. 3, a birdie on No. 5, and a miraculous par save on No. 9. Walters was on the fringe in front of a bunker and had 25 feet left for par. The sand on the fringe was immovable according to an official so Walters regrouped and took a line two feet to the right of the hole. The ball trickled down the hill and went center cut, which resulted in the largest roar of the tournament.
The South African made the turn at 1-over par and went on to bogey No. 12. He regained the stroke on the 14th hole with a birdie. The Texas A&M Commerce signee made pars the rest of the way and went into 18 at 1-over.
Walters laid up short of the green which left him with a 50-yard pitch to the front pin location. The approach took two big bounces short of the green before coming to rest for birdie eight feet away from the hole pin high. Walters made par to shoot a 1-over 72 and finish the championship T-8 at 4-under par.
Once the hole was completed, the celebration was on as the NMJC golf team hoisted their first national championship trophy in program history.
The difference this round compared to the last three were how the Thunderbirds finished. They played the last four holes at 20-over par as a team in Rounds 1-3. On Friday, it was a different story where they collectively went 2-under in the closing holes. During the final round, the outlier on the scorecard was the par-5 14th hole. NMJC went birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie there to shoot 6-under as a team and 5-under for the counting scores.
The Thunderbirds had the most birdies in the tournament with 79, the most eagles in the championship at five, and the lowest team scoring average on par-4s at 3.99.
The win is the first national championship under first-year head coaches Kayla Weaver and Kendalyn Ferguson. The duo was presented with the Delnor Poss Coach of the Tournament Award for their championship efforts.