NMJC (M-Golf) Places 5th at NJCAA Championship in Newton

The NMJC men's golf team finished in fifth place at the NJCAA DI Men's Golf Championship in Newton, Kan., on Friday, May 16. 

The Thunderbirds shot a 15-over par 303 in the final round to finish the week at 29-over.

WJCAC member Midland College won the championship at 6-over, Odessa ended the tournament runner-up at 13-over, and Indian Hills was third at 21-over. Charlie Box (-5) of Hutchinson CC defeated Odessa College's Adam Bresnu (-4) by one stroke to win the individual national title.

The T-Birds shot 289 (+1) in Round 1, 293 (+5) in Round 2, 296 (+8) in Round 3, and a 303 (+15) in Round 4. The 72-hole total was 1181 shots (+29).  

Elias Pettersson finished the tournament in a tie for 23rd place at 7-over par following his 4-over 76 in the final round. The Swede was 1-under through his first seven holes after birdieing hole No. 2. A double on No. 8 had Pettersson make the turn at 1-over. The sophomore made six straight pars before ending his round bogey-bogey-bogey to shoot a 4-over 76. Pettersson ended his Thunderbird career at 7-over after recording a 72-hole total of 73-72-74-76.

Jake Yrene placed T-25 at 9-over in his first appearance at nationals after shooting a final-round 72 (E). Yrene's scorecard featured just six pars on the day. The Albuquerque, NM native made bogeys on hole No. 1 and No. 8 but stacked four straight birdies in between holes 3-6 to go out at 2-under. Yrene stretched it to 3-under with a birdie on No. 11 but a double on No. 13 and bogeys on No. 16-17 dropped him down to 1-over. Yrene ended the round on a good note with a birdie on No. 18 to bring it back to level par. Yrene finished his freshman campaign at 9-over after posting a 72-hole total of 72-77-76-72. 

Henry Drake completed his final round shooting a 10-over 82 to end his week T-30 at 11-over par. Drake was five over through his first four holes making three bogeys and a double. The sophomore made bogeys on hole No. 6-7 and then doubled nine to shoot 45 (+9). Drake birdied No. 10 and No. 16 but dropped a shot on No. 14 and made double on 18 to shoot 1-over on the back and 10-over for the afternoon. Drake wrapped up his time in a T-Bird uniform at 11-over recording rounds of 72-73-72-82. 

Pettersson and Drake finished their careers with the T-Birds after leading the team to their first national title in 2024.  

PJ Herron ended the tournament T-30 at 11-over after shooting a final-round 77 (+5). Herron made three bogeys and a birdie on the front to shoot 2-over. The Victoria, Minnesota native was 2-over in his next five holes with three bogeys and a birdie. He went on to bogey No. 17 to end the day with a 5-over 77. Herron finished his freshman season at 11-over with rounds of 75-73-74-77. 

Oliver Ruutu finished nationals T-63 at 18-over following a 6-over 78 in the final round in Newton, Kan. Ruutu was 3-over during the opening nine with three bogeys. He made back-to-back birdies on No. 10 and No. 11 and a par on 12 to sit 1-over. Ruutu unfortunately made five bogeys in his last six holes to shoot a 6-over 78. The Finn ended his freshman season shooting 18-over after posting rounds of 72-75-81-78 at Sand Creek Station. 

The first year under head coach Gil Williams saw the men's team end the year with one team win, three individual titles, and a fifth straight top-5 finish at the NJCAA DI Men's Golf Championship.

T-Bird fans can see the final results by clicking here and follow NMJC men's golf's Instagram @nmjc_mgolf for more content.