UNLV finishes 3rd in Mountain West men’s golf championship

UNLV men’s golf team must wait a few days to see if its season is over.

The Rebels finished third Sunday in the Mountain West Championship, edged by a stroke by New Mexico in the battle for second place at Omni Tuscon National in Tucson, Arizona.

Both were a long way from winner San Diego State, which finished 60 under. The Aztecs were 28 under in the final round alone and placed four individuals in the top six.

New Mexico was 25 strokes back at 35 under, while the Rebels finished at 34 under after posting a final-round 13-under 275.

Whether the Rebels make it to the NCAA Regionals with an at-large berth will be determined by the selection committee Wednesday, but junior Caden Fioroni most likely will be there as an individual. He had a 6-under 66 on Sunday to finish third at 15-under 201, four shots behind co-medalists Dylan Oyama of San Diego State and Christoph Bleier of Colorado State. Oyama had the round of the tournament Sunday with a 10-under 62.

Freshman Brett Sawaia also posted a top-10 finish for the Rebels, finishing at 9-under 207 to tie for 10th. Older brother Ben Sawaia was another shot back in 12th, while junior Yuki Moriyama (32nd) and senior George Leigh (42nd) rounded out UNLV finishers.

Six regionals will be held May 15-17, including one at Bear’s Best in Las Vegas. The top five teams from each regional will advance to the NCAA Championship from May 26-31 at Grayhawk Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.