NMJC (M-Golf) Sits 12th at Nationals Following Round 1

The NMJC men's golf team is in 12th place after recording a 22-over team total of 310 in Round 1 of the 2026 NJCAA Men's Golf National Championship.

The T-Birds are 17 shots back of the first-round leader Indian Hills CC. The No. 1 ranked Warriors opened the tournament with a 5-over 293. 

Second place is shared with No. 2 Odessa College and No. 5 Central Alabama CC at 12-over.

There is a 4-way tie atop the leaderboard at 1-under (71) between Ken Gao of Odessa, Harry McArdle of Indian Hills, Noah Sandlin of Tyler JC and Ty Potter of Iowa Western CC.

Oliver Ruutu is three shots off the lead after Round 1 at nationals following his 2-over 74 on Tuesday. The Finn's front nine featured four bogeys, four pars, and a birdie. He started the back nine with a bogey and then went par-birdie before rattling off five straight pars headed into the 18th hole. Ruutu birdied No. 18 to post a 35 (-1) on the back and move into the T-15 slot at 2-over.

Alfie Mellor overcame a slow start in Round 1 to shoot a 5-over 77 and sit in a tie for 34th place. Mellor made six bogeys and three pars in his opening nine to make the turn at 6-over (42). He bogeyed No. 10 and then made pars on his next four holes. The sophomore made back-to-back birdies on No. 15 and No. 16 to move to 5-over. He parred his final two holes to shoot 35 (-1) and finish T-34 at 5-over. 

Riley Apodaca was the No. 3 man in the lineup recording a 6-over 78 in Round 1. The freshman made two bogeys and seven pars on his first nine to shoot 38 (+2). He started his back nine bogey-par-par-double. Then went birdie-bogey-par-par before bogeying the last hole to shoot 40 (+4). He finished Round 1 T-43 at 6-over.

Tristan Kolasinski shot a 9-over 81 in Round 1 at nationals. The freshman registered a 6-over 42 on the front nine but was steadier on the back nine where posted a 3-over 39 to finish T-73 at 9-over par. 

Eino Haaslahti had a forgettable day shooting a 17-over 89 to tie for 99th place. The freshman opened with a birdie but made four triples, a double, and four bogeys in his round.    

Nick Friedrichsen is set to sub in for Round 2 action.

Tee times for Round 2 are as follows from Hole No. 1, Riley Apodaca will tee off at 10:50 a.m. CDT, Nick Friedrichsen at 11 a.m. CDT, Tristan Kolasinski at 11:10 a.m. CDT, Alfie Mellor at 11:20 a.m. CDT, and Oliver Ruutu at 11:30 a.m. CDT.

T-Bird fans can follow the live scoring by clicking here and for live updates follow NMJC men's golf's Instagram @nmjc_mgolf.