Las Vegas Desert Classic [Live Leaderboard]
Boulder City, Nev. - Boulder Creek GC - Sunday-Tuesday - hosted by Missouri-St. Louis

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SPRING HAS SPRUNG
Winter is over for Colorado School of Mines golf as they begin the spring season with the Las Vegas Desert Classic at Boulder Creek in Nevada. The three-day, 54-hole event starts Sunday and runs through Tuesday, giving Mines a preview of the course that will host the 2024 RMAC Championships in late April. Sunday's first round goes off with an 11:30 a.m. PT shotgun start, with the Orediggers paired with Missouri-St. Louis, #2 Lincoln Memorial, and UT Tyler. 

THE TOURNAMENT
The Las Vegas Desert Classic is one of the top early spring tournaments in D-II, with nine teams in the latest Scoreboard National Collegiate Golf Rankings Top 25 appearing in the field, including #19 Mines along with #2 Lincoln Memorial. #3 CSU Pueblo, #7 Colorado Christian, #9 Oklahoma Christian, #12 UT Permian Basin, #17 Dallas Baptist, #18 West Florida, and #22 Colorado Mesa. A live leaderboard will be available on GolfStat.

THE FORECAST
Conditions are forecast to be ideal in southern Nevada, with temperatures in the low 60s and abundant sunshine on all three days of the tournament; windy conditions on Sunday should subside for the final two rounds.

THE COURSE
Situated in southeastern Nevada between Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam, Boulder Creek was built in 2003 and is a frequent tournament host, including Monday qualifying for The Shriners Childrens' Open and the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship. Mines is no stranger to Boulder Creek, playing there twice last year in this event as well as the RMAC Championships. The tournament will use two of the courses' three tracks with play on the Desert Hawk and Coyote Run nines.

IN THE RANKINGS
As mentioned, the Orediggers are #19 in the latest Scoreboard National Collegiate Golf Rankings, which has taken over from GolfStat as NCAA golf's ranking system. Individuals in the top 100 include #23 Lukas Taggart and #50 Max Lange. Mines is also ranked in the Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Coaches' Poll, appearing at #20 in the latest edition out this morning. 

FALL RECAP
Mines hopes to build on a strong fall season that saw its youngsters in the lineup find consistency and develop into veterans. Mines finished as the runner-up at the Writz at Mile High and Sam Proal Invite, and was third at the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invite to highlight the first half. Individually, the Orediggers were led by Max Lange and Lukas Taggart, who combined for seven top-10 and five top-five finishes as Lange averaged 70.87 and Taggart 71.07; senior Ethan Adam had a top-10 averaging 73.27, with Theodore Reitter also averaging under 74 at 73.56. 

WRAPPING UP A LEGENDARY CAREER
The Waste Management Phoenix Open is always a must-watch for golf fans, and it was especially true for Oredigger followers as alumnus Jim Knous played in his final PGA Tour event there in early February before heading off to join PING as an engineer. Knous Monday qualified to make the field, and with Mines head coach Tyler Kimble on his bag, made the cut and finished T28 after a string of late birdies.

MARKHAM SET FOR PGA TOUR AMERICAS
Another Oredigger grinding it on the pro circuit is 2019 grad George Markham, who is set for his second year on the new PGA Tour Americas (a merger of PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamérica) after he played on the PGA Tour Canada last year. The top 120 players on the points list after 15 events will be eligible for the Fortinet Cup Championship, and the top 10 players in the Fortinet Cup standings receive Korn Ferry Tour cards, with more conditional cards available to top finishers from the two halves of the season. The tour opens play on March 21 with the Bupa Championships in Tulum, Mexico. 

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will take almost a month off after the Las Vegas Desert Classic, returning to play with the Hot Dirt Classic on April 5-6 and the RJGA Palm Valley Classic on April 8-9. Their only spring Colorado date is April 15-16 at the Southern Colorado Masters in Pueblo, and RMAC Championships are April 21-23 back at Boulder Creek. 
 

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MINES PROJECTED LINEUP - Las Vegas Desert Classic
1. Max Lange (So.)
Scoreboard #50 … Averages a team-low 70.87 … Had four top-six finishes in the fall including T1 at the Centennial Cup and T3 at the Sam Proal Invite … Finished even par or better in four of five fall outings.
2. Lukas Taggart (So.)
Scoreboard #23 … RMAC Golfer of the Week on Oct. 5 … Had three top-10s and a T11 in the fall, including T1 at the Ryan Palmer Invite and T2 at The Writz at Mile High … Finished under par in four of five starts … Averages 71.07.
3. Ethan Adam (Sr.)
Finished fall with his second career top-10, T7 at the Otter Invitational … Was top-25 in three of five starts … Shot his low round of the fall, 68, in the Otter Invitational first round … Averages 73.27.
4. Theodore Reitter (Jr.)
Played in three fall tournaments, finishing top-15 twice … Finished fall with best scoring average, +1, to be 13th at the Otter Invitational … Was T11 (+4) at The Writz at Mile High … Averages 73.56.
5. Owen Cornmesser (Jr.)
Played in four fall tournaments … Has Mines' low round of the year shooting 67 (-5) at the Sam Proal Invite … That was his best fall finish at T17 (+3) … Was +5 for T34 at the Centennial Cup.