The UTEP men’s golf team’s run through the 2026 Conference USA Men’s Golf Championships went from dominant to disappointing, as the Miners lost in the championship match to Liberty 3 1/2-1 1/2 at Texarkana (Ark.) Country Club.
This marked UTEP’s second consecutive runner-up finish in the CUSA tournament, which is their last as they prepare for the move to the Mountain West.
After winning three rounds of stroke play in the 11-team field and then beating Middle Tennessee 4-1 in the Thursday morning semifinals, the top-seeded Miners got off to a slow start against Liberty Thursday afternoon and couldn’t catch up.
They will now have to wait to see if they get selected for the regionals. The selection show is May 6, with regionals starting on May 18.
Braden Smith gave UTEP its lone victory in the finals when he beat Luke Libby 1-up, and UTEP’s Pat Foley tied Josh Ryan for the other half point. Heading into the final holes, the Miners had a chance to draw an inside straight for a miracle, as Alexandre Godin was tied with Liberty’s Ike Joy going into the 16th hole. At that point, UTEP had decisively lost two matches but was tied in three others.
Joy won holes 16 and 17 to close out the Godin and the Miners. Dylan Teeter lost to Michael Luciano 5 & 4, while Marc Keller fell to Silva Haarer 4 & 2.
UTEP’s semifinal wasn’t close, as it led Middle Tennessee from the first tee, with the lead hovering between 5-0 and 4-1 until the Miners closed it out.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP golf finishes second in final CUSA Championship
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
