The NM/WT Mid-Am Championship was played September 19 and 20 at Picacho Hills Country Club in Las Cruces.
Sun Country Amateur Golf Association
Scott Lieberwirth Closes With 69 to Win the NM/WT Mid-Am Championship
The El Paso player started Sunday two strokes back in fourth place and won the Men’s Championship by three. KayLinda Crawford, Russell Nielsen, Ryan Dies, Lara Davis and Dean Furr also won division titles at Picacho Hills.
The NM/WT Mid-Am Championship was played September 19 and 20 at Picacho Hills Country Club in Las Cruces. The championship is open to SCAGA members 25 and over. Fifty-two players finished 36 holes in six divisions. The Men’s, Women’s and Senior Championships were decided at gross, and the Men’s Net, Women’s Net and Senior Net divisions were played at 85 percent of Handicap Index.
Scott Lieberwirth shot 69 on Sunday, three under par. It was the lowest round of the championship in any gross division, and he shot it from the Men’s Championship tees at 6,939 yards, the longest set on the course.
Fourth to First
Kris Holt of Alamogordo led the Men’s Championship after Saturday with 74. Cody Correa and Chris Youngblood Cutler were one back at 75. Cutler made the only eagle in the division on Saturday, a 3 at the 524-yard par-5 7th. Lieberwirth opened with 76 and was fourth, two strokes behind.
He bogeyed the 1st on Sunday and the 6th, a 209-yard par 3. Through five holes he was tied for the lead with Correa and Holt. He birdied the 7th to go ahead alone and never gave the lead back. He birdied the 9th to turn in 35, then birdied the 13th and 14th and parred in for a bogey-free 34 on the back nine. His last 12 holes were four under par without a bogey.
The 14th, a 386-yard par 4, tied the 6th as the hardest hole on the Men’s Championship tees, playing 0.80 over par across both rounds. Lieberwirth made double bogey 6 there on Saturday and birdie 3 there on Sunday.
The Men’s Championship field averaged 77.80 on Sunday. Correa of Las Cruces came home in 34 and finished second at 148. Holt was third at 155. Over 36 holes Lieberwirth led the division with six birdies and 24 pars, and he tied Correa for the best mark on the par 5s at three under.
Cutler finished fourth and Brian Chavez fifth. Both played for the Santa Fe Country Club team that won the first NM/WT Club Team Championship three weeks earlier.
Nielsen Takes the Senior Championship
Crispin Fuentes of Las Cruces led the Senior Championship after the first round with 70, two under par, after birdies at the 16th and 17th. Russell Nielsen and Scott Winegar were two back at 72. Nielsen’s first round included three straight birdies at the 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
On Sunday Fuentes birdied the 1st to reach three under, then made double bogey at the 2nd and again at the par-5 9th. That left Nielsen and Winegar tied for the lead at even par through nine holes. Nielsen birdied the 11th and the 12th. The 12th, a 391-yard par 4, was the hardest hole in the Senior Championship over two days at 0.66 over par. Winegar made 7 there.
Nielsen led by four through 14 holes. He made double bogey at the 16th and still won by three. His 72 was the low round of the day in the division by three strokes, and he was the only player in the division at even par or better for 36 holes. Fuentes and Winegar tied for second at 147. Anton Salome of Socorro was fourth at 151.
Nielsen made 25 pars over two rounds, tied with Winegar for the most in the division, and his 31 holes at par or better led the field. Winegar played the first NM/WT Club Team Championship with KayLinda Crawford on the team that finished fourth in Gross and second in Net.
Crawford Leads Start to Finish
KayLinda Crawford shot 77 on Saturday, the low round of the Women’s Championship, and made no score worse than bogey. She led Annette Sieben by seven and Lara Davis by nine. On Sunday she shot 80, tied with Davis for the low round of the day, and won by nine strokes at 157.
The women played Picacho Hills at 5,297 yards. The par-5 9th, 457 yards, averaged 7.00 for the division, two over par, the hardest hole of the week on the women’s tees. Crawford made par there both days. She also played the par 5s at even par over two rounds, the best mark in the division.
Davis finished second in the Women’s Championship at 166 and Sieben third at 170. Crawford, Sieben and Ellie Layton all played in the first NM/WT Club Team Championship at Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe.
Davis Comes From Behind in the Women’s Net
Julie Bauer of Las Cruces led the Women’s Net after Saturday with a net 73. Lara Davis was tied for fourth at net 77, four strokes behind.
Davis shot 80 on Sunday, six strokes better than her first round. Her birdies at the 3rd and 8th were two of the seven birdies made in the Women’s Championship all week, and nobody in the women’s field made more than her two. The round was a net 71, one under par, tied with Ellie Layton for the low net round of the day. Davis played the front nine in net 33 and won the Women’s Net at 148, two ahead of Annette Sieben. Crawford was third at 151.
Dies Holds On in the Men’s Net
Ryan Dies opened with a net 77 and led the Men’s Net by five over Edward Worden and Jacob Williams. He played the front nine on Sunday in net 36, even par, and made the turn eight strokes clear.
Worden of Santa Fe shot a net 78, the low round of the day in the division, and cut the margin in half over the closing nine. Dies finished at 156 and won by four. Worden was second at 160 and Daniel Sheets of Albuquerque third at 169. With Lieberwirth, Dies gave El Paso two of the six division titles.
One Shot in the Senior Net
The Senior Net was the largest division in the field with 21 players, split into A and B flights with an overall title. Don Bustos of Las Cruces led after the first round with a net 71. Chris Melton was second at 73, and Dean Furr was tied for third at 74.
The finish was the closest of the week. After 35 holes Furr, Rob Baca and Dan Duran of Las Cruces were all at seven over. Furr made a net 3 at the 18th, a 355-yard par 4, while Baca and Duran each made 4. Furr won at 150, one ahead of Baca and Duran at 151. Over two days he made 11 net birdies and a net eagle at the par-5 9th on Sunday, the most in the division.
Furr also won Senior Net A. Alfredo Reina of El Paso won Senior Net B at 153, and his net 73 on Sunday was the low round of the day among all 21 senior net players.
Winners in Each Division
| Division | Champion | Rounds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men’s Championship | Scott LieberwirthEl Paso, TX | 76-69 | 145 (+1) |
| Women’s Championship | KayLinda CrawfordLos Alamos, NM | 77-80 | 157 (+13) |
| Senior Championship | Russell NielsenLas Cruces, NM | 72-72 | 144 (E) |
| Men’s Net | Ryan DiesEl Paso, TX | 77-79 | 156 (+12) |
| Women’s Net | Lara DavisAlbuquerque, NM | 77-71 | 148 (+4) |
| Senior Net Overall | Dean FurrAlamogordo, NM | 74-76 | 150 (+6) |
| Senior Net B | Alfredo ReinaEl Paso, TX | 80-73 | 153 (+9) |
Thank you to all participants and Picacho Hills Country Club for hosting the 2026 NM/WT Mid-Am Championship.