By: Tim Flynn
2024 RMAC Championships [Live Leaderboard] [Championship Central]
Boulder City, Nev. - Boulder Creek GC - Sunday-Tuesday
OREDIGGERS RETURN TO NEVADA FOR RMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2024 RMAC Championships start Sunday as Colorado School of Mines returns to a familiar course, Boulder Creek in Nevada, for the three-day, 54-hole tournament to crown team and individual champions.
A live leaderboard is available on Golfstat.com; the Orediggers will tee off the first round at 10:15 a.m. PT on Sunday paired with Fort Lewis and Westminster.
THE TOURNAMENT
The RMAC Championships pit Mines against seven other RMAC men's programs, three of which are ranked in the Clippd Scoreboard top-50 in #6 Colorado Christian, #20 CSU Pueblo, and #33 Colorado Mesa along with #40 Mines. The tournament is a critical opportunity for the Orediggers to extend their season as Mines sits 11th in the latest regional rankings, one spot behind Mesa; the top 10 teams make the NCAA regional field.
THE FORECAST
Hot and sunny with highs around 90 all three days of the tournament, but afternoon winds on Monday and Tuesday could prove to be a challenge.
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 and once earlier this spring as they finished ninth in the elite Las Vegas Desert Classic field. The course has three nines, with the men's tournament starting on the Coyote Run course while the women's tournament runs simultaneously starting on the Desert Hawk side.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Orediggers are receiving votes in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches' Poll out last week, and are #40 in the Scoreboard College Golf Rankings out this week.
Lukas Taggart is #53 to lead Mines in the individual rankings, while the Orediggers are 11th in the South Central region.
MINES AT THE RMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Orediggers are seeking their fourth RMAC tournament title having won in 2012, 2018, and 2019. Since the RMAC Championship went to its tournament format in 2012, Mines has also been the runner-up three times, in 2013, 2015, and 2016. In the 2019 tournament, Mines held off Dixie State for a one-shot victory, shooting the lowest 54-hole total in RMAC history (826). The Orediggers finished fifth last year led by conference runner-up and freshman of the year
Lukas Taggart.
MARKHAM OPENS PLAY ON PGA TOUR AMERICAS
Former Oredigger star George Markham has started his second year on the new PGA Tour Americas (a merger of PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamérica) after finishing 26th on the PGA Tour Canada money list last year. Markham made the cut and finished T54 at the Bupa Championship in Tulum, Mexico, and missed the cut by a shot at the Totalplay Championship in El Salto, Mexico. This week the tour is in South America for the ECP Brazil Open in Rio de Janeiro, where Markham is T53 and inside the cut line after Friday's first round. He'll head to the Diners Club Peru Open in Lima on April 25-28. 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.
MINES PROJECTED LINEUP
1. Lukas Taggart (So.)
Scoreboard #53 … RMAC Championships runner-up in 2023 … Owns four top-10s and three top-fives this season … Finished T4 (-10) at the Palm Valley Classic … Shot 69-69-68 at that tournament … Averages 71.54.
2. Max Lange (So.)
Finished T12 at the 2023 RMAC Championships … Was T40 in Las Vegas and T18 at Raindance … Finished T43 (+2) at Palm Valley) … Had four top-six finishes in the fall including T1 at the Centennial Cup and T3 at the Sam Proal Invite …Averages 72.5.
3. Ethan Adam (Sr.)
Appearing in third straight RMAC Championships lineup, finishing T21 in 2022 and T32 in 2023 … Has been inside the top 30 seven times this year … Recorded his second top-10 of the season finishing 8th at the Southern Colorado Masters … Best season finish was T7 at the Otter Invitational … Averages 73.0
4. Theodore Reitter (Jr.)
Making second RMAC Championships lineup, finishing T38 in 2022 … Top season finishes were T11 at The Writz at Mile High and 13th at the Otter Invitational … Averages 74.13.
5. Jake Welch (Sr.)
Is appearing in his fourth career RMAC Championships, with finishes of T36 in 2021, 30th in 2022, and T35 in 2023 … Has played in four events this spring, with best finishes of T18 at The Battle At The Dance and T21 at the Southern Colorado Masters … averages 74.0.
