UTEP advances to match play as #1 seed at CUSA Men’s Golf Championship
TEXARKANA, Arkansas - UTEP (-31) captured the No. 1 seed, beating out rival NM State (-29) by two strokes following the final round in stroke play at the 2026 Conference USA Men’s Golf Championship at Texarkana Country Club (par 72 | 6,969 yards) on Wednesday afternoon.
The Miners will be the No. 1 seed and will face No. 4 Middle Tennessee in Thursday’s semifinal match play at 8 a.m. CT/7 MDT on ESPN+. It’s the first time since 2017 that UTEP is the No. 1 seed, when the Miners won the CUSA title. This will also mark the third consecutive season UTEP advances to match play after back-to-back runner-up finishes.
No. 2 NM State is squaring off against No. 3 Liberty in the other semifinal. The championship final will tee off at 1 p.m. CT/Noon MDT on ESPN+.
The Miners (279-271-283—833) shot 5-under par 283 in the third round to maintain their first-place status. The Aggies (279-277-279—835) shot 9-under on the day and finished as the No. 2 seed. Liberty 284-286-277—847), which started the day in fifth, moved up two spots to tie for third after shooting a field-best 11-under. The Flames will be the third seed against the Aggies. Middle Tennessee (291-278-278—847) shot 10-under par to maintain its match-play status.
UTEP led the field on par 4s at 17-under (3.89 avg.). The Miners recorded a tournament-best in birdies (61) and pars (180). The Miners had the fewest bogeys with 28.
Dylan Teeter (t-2nd), Alexandre Godin (t-2nd), and Patrick Foley (t-5th) earned CUSA All-Tournament team honors following their performances.
Teeter (69-63-73—207) dropped a spot and finished tied for second with two other players. Teeter shot a career-low 63 on Tuesday, but came up with a 73 in the third after bogeying a few holes. Overall, Teeter tallied 13 birdies during stroke play.
Alexandre Godin (68-69-70—207) tied with Teeter after firing 2-under par 70 in round three. Godin birdied holes seven and 16 with no bogeys on the day. Godin totaled 12 birdies.
Patrick Foley (69-68-71—208) dropped three spots after shooting 1-under and placing tied for fifth overall. Foley finished with a team-most 14 birdies (t-3rd in the field).
Marc Keller (72-71-70—213) moved up a spot to 18th overall after a 2-under par effort. Keller tallied 11 birdies overall. On Wednesday, he penciled a trio of birdies to only one bogey.
Braden Smith (71-71-72—214) fell five spots and tied for 19th. Smith registered 11 birdies.
NM State’s Javier Delgadillo (71-66-68—205) won the individual title at 11-under par, after shooting 4-under on the day. His teammate Mateo Payan (67-70-70—207) finished tied for second with Teeter and Godin.
COMING THURSDAY – MATCH PLAY
Match play semifinals are Thursday, April 30, at 8 a.m. CT/7 MDT, while the finals will be played later in the day, starting at 1 p.m. CT/Noon MDT. The final will be streamed on ESPN+.
