The UNM men's golf team's chance of winning the Inverness Intercollegiate was blown away by what was left of hurricane Isabel Friday afternoon in Toledo, Ohio.
"The wind was blowing 30 to 40 miles per hour out there," head coach Glen Millican said. "In those kinds of conditions, on a U.S. Open course, well, it was just very difficult."
The Lobos shot 296-310-300-906, to finish 54-over-par and in sixth place, 20 strokes behind UCLA.
Friday morning's first round ended with the men in cherry and silver in second place, just two shots back at the 7,255-yard, par 71 Inverness Club - site of eight major championships, including this year's U.S. Senior Open.
But at the completion of the afternoon's second round, the Lobos had slipped to fifth place and out of contention.
"You just can't shoot 310 and expect to have any chance at winning a golf tournament," junior Jay Reynolds said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Reynolds turned in the best performance for the Lobos in Ohio. He fired rounds of 72-76-77-225, earning a share of 13th place, nine strokes behind individual tournament champion UCLA's John Merrick.
Despite his second top-15 showing in as many weeks, Reynolds said he was frustrated by an inability to finish rounds that began with great promise.
Reynolds was 3-under through seven holes in the opening round, but made two late bogeys to finish at 1-over. A poor closing stretch also cost the Austin, Texas native in round two.
"I had three good rounds going, but I just couldn't get it in," he said. "It's encouraging to know I can play a course like that well. It was tough though. If you're not hitting it where you're looking or not hitting your numbers, it really exposes your weaknesses."
Sophomore Jae Choi said though he struggled to find the narrow Inverness fairways with his driver, patience served him well for the week.
"The driver was just killing my opportunities - just murdering my chances," Choi said. "I was struggling again with my shots, but I stayed patient instead of trying to force things."
Choi was second best for UNM. Rounds of 79-75-74-228 earned him a tie for 27th.
Junior Madalitso Muthiya tied for 32nd with a 16-over-par total of 229.
One stroke further behind and in 38th place was senior Ian Medlock, who won last week's William H. Tucker Invitational at the UNM Championship Course. Aside from a second round 83 in the cold and wind, Toledo was another solid tournament for the team captain.
Also posting an 83 Friday afternoon was freshman Charlie Beljan. In just his second start as a Lobo, Beljan finished tied for 54th.
Millican said no matter how good a team is, Inverness will eventually take its toll.
"Unfortunately Charlie and Ian had their bad rounds on the same day, so we had to count one of those scores," he said. "It's not the kind of course where we could have two guys shoot in the 60s and make up for a bad score."
Still, Millican said, experience on a championship-style layout is invaluable for his team come post-season time.
Next up for the Lobos is the Club Glove Intercollegiate Oct. 6 and 7 in Malibu, Calif.
