UNM ATHLETICS
New Mexico freshman Thayer Plewe narrowly misses out on U.S. Open qualifying spot
Late double bogey took Mountain West Freshman of the Year out of the mix
Published
Modified
After an All-Mountain West Conference freshman year, one Lobo came oh, so close to getting his first taste of major championship golf.
New Mexico鈥檚 Thayer Plewe narrowly missed a spot in the U.S. Open on Monday, finishing 36 holes of final qualifying play Wednesday at 3 under par 鈥� one stroke off the 4-under-par cut line at Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento, Calif.
The Mountain West Freshman of the Year surged into contention for one of four qualifying spots at Del Paso after carding a 5-under-par 67 in Wednesday鈥檚 opening round. Only after making a double bogey on the 16th hole of his second round 鈥� one of only two bogeys he made all day 鈥� did he fall out of one of the qualifying spots.
Plewe was one of 700-plus golfers vying for 43 spots in the 126th U.S. Open, scheduled for June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York. Nicknamed 鈥済olf鈥檚 longest day,鈥� Monday saw 10 courses across North America host amateurs such as Plewe and PGA Tour professionals like Max Homa in a pursuit to join the 156-player field.
While Plewe was the closest to doing so, he wasn鈥檛 the only current or former Lobo to tee it up on Wednesday. UNM junior Wyatt Provence finished 3-over-par (77-70) at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Oregon to miss the cut while former Lobo All-American Steve Saunders did not finish the day at Del Paso.
A Cortez, Colorado native, Plewe finished his first season with the Lobos at 218th in the NCAA rankings after completing a two-year mission. He finished in the top 10 twice, notably tying for eighth at the Mountain West Championship before being named Mountain West Freshman of the Year.
With the honor, Plewe became the first UNM men鈥檚 golfer to earn the award since Carson Herron in 2022. He was also one of four Lobos to earn All-Mountain West honors this year, tying the program's single-season record.
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at .
