A trip to Sin City March 7-9 will give the UNM men's golf team a chance to cash in big against some of the best teams in the nation.
The Lobos head to the Toyota Intercollegiate with the same lineup that tied for second place in last month's John Burns Invitational in Honolulu. Freshman sensation Jay Choi, who finished ninth in Hawaii, will be joined once again by senior Michael Letzig, junior Ian Medlock and sophomores Madalitso Muthiya and David Schultz. Junior Jim Anderson will compete as an individual.
Despite not playing any golf in the last week due to an illness, Choi feels confident in his game.
"I just want to play solid like I did in Hawaii and for the team to win," he said.
Just a throw of the dice from the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas strip, the 7,381-yard, par-72 Southern Highlands Golf Club will see one of the strongest fields of the year.
The Lobos, ranked No. 15 in the Golfweek/Sagarin performance index, will square off against eight of the top-10 teams in the land, including eighth-ranked Arizona, winners of two straight. No. 2 Augusta State, which has won five of six events and top-ranked Clemson will also be tough to beat.
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"It's definitely the best field we play against all year besides regionals and nationals," said head coach Glen Millican, whose Lobos finished second in Las Vegas last year. "Those teams are ranked there for a reason."
Southern Highlands is by no means a short golf course, but the usually firm, fast conditions, combined with the paper-thin desert air, make it play shorter than the yardage on the scorecard. And though the fairways are ample in width, a premium is placed on accuracy.
"The biggest key out here is getting it in play," Millican said.
Letzig concurred, citing a patch of rough near the sixth green from which he tried to extract his ball in Thursday's practice round.
"It was like chopping hay in there," he said. "You could seriously lose a golf ball in some of the rough around the greens."
Millican added that being able to position the ball in the proper place on the slick greens would be of utmost importance.
"If you get aggressive on these greens, you could three-putt in a hurry," Letzig said.
Playing against the best teams in college golf on a demanding layout, the Lobos have a chance to make a statement -- Vegas-style.
