What to watch in Round 2 of the New Mexico Open
A 64 leads at Turtleback Mountain, an amateur and a Utah pro sit one back, and the defending champion is in the first group off the 10th tee. Here is who to follow, which holes decide it and when to tune in.
Round 1 is complete. Chervony leads by one.
Lightning stopped play Monday afternoon with five groups still on the course. They came back at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and finished, so the Round 1 board below is final. Steven Chervony of Austin, Texas, leads at 8 under after a 64 that included an eagle, eight birdies and a 6-under back nine he closed with three straight birdies at 16, 17 and 18.
One shot back are two players who got there in very different ways. Jackson Funkhouser, an amateur from College Station, Texas, went out in 31 and was 8 under standing on the 18th tee before a bogey dropped him to 65. Carson Lundell of Alpine, Utah, was 6 under through 15 when the horn sounded Monday, slept on it, then played 16 and 17 in par and birdied 18 this morning for his own 65.
Three players signed for 67: Ryan Sullivan of Winston-Salem, N.C., amateur Max Chan of Heath, Texas, and 2012 champion Wil Collins of Albuquerque. Five more are at 68, including defending champion Aidan Thomas of Bernalillo.
Watch the best shots from Round 1 from the live broadcast.
| Pos | Player | R1 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Chervony Austin, TX | 64 | -8 |
| T2 | Jackson Funkhouser (a) College Station, TX | 65 | -7 |
| T2 | Carson Lundell Alpine, UT | 65 | -7 |
| T4 | Max Chan (a) Heath, TX | 67 | -5 |
| T4 | Ryan Sullivan Winston-Salem, NC | 67 | -5 |
| T4 | Wil Collins Albuquerque, NM | 67 | -5 |
| T7 | TK Kim Garland, TX | 68 | -4 |
| T7 | Aidan Thomas Bernalillo, NM | 68 | -4 |
| T7 | Justin Sheparovich Paradise Valley, AZ | 68 | -4 |
| T7 | Dylan Healey Marana, AZ | 68 | -4 |
| T7 | Andrew Tan Austin, TX | 68 | -4 |
Seven players, and when they tee off
Round 2 goes off both tees. The morning wave started at 7:30 a.m. and the afternoon wave starts at 12:30 p.m. The leader and both 67-shooters who played Monday morning are in the final group of the day.
Steven Chervony
Nine par breakers, no player had more Monday. Chervony said the round came down to smart tee shots, especially late once the wind got up, and that the last four or five holes on the front nine were the hardest stretch he played. His plan for Tuesday is the same, only with an afternoon tee time and more wind to think about.
Try to hit the fat part of the fairway.Chervony, after his round Monday. Watch the full interview.
Jackson Funkhouser (a)
Low amateur after 18 holes. Funkhouser eagled the par-5 third, added eight birdies and made his only bogey on the last hole. He missed the cut here a year ago and watched a former college teammate, Aidan Thomas, win it. Asked what worked, he pointed to the driver and the greens, and said he made a lot of putts. His Monday night plan was Chipotle and an early night.
It’s kind of hard off the tee, and I think that was kind of why I was able to play well today. I just hit my driver really well.Funkhouser, Monday.
Carson Lundell
The strangest day in the field. Lundell birdied five holes on the front nine for a 31, bogeyed 15, and was waiting on the 16th when play was suspended. He came back at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, finished par, par, birdie, and teed off in Round 2 at 9:00 a.m. He and Funkhouser both made eight birdies Monday.
Aidan Thomas
The defending champion opened with the same score he shot in the first round a year ago, and it was not a comfortable one. Thomas lost a ball at the seventh and made double bogey, then made five birdies between the 10th and the 17th. He said the difference this year is the rough: last year it was three to four inches thick and missing the fairway was an automatic penalty. This year the fairways are wider and the rough thinner, which changes the club he hits on holes like the 12th.
Today I feel relieved. It started off a little shaky. After that I kind of settled down.Thomas, Monday.
Ryan Sullivan
Sullivan started on the 10th tee Monday and made double bogey on his first hole. He was 2 over through seven, then played the front nine in 5 under with six birdies and an eagle at the par-5 third, a hole he says has always treated him well. He talked to the superintendent Sunday and believes the wider fairways make the course a little more scoreable than last year, with one caveat.
There’s a lot of trouble out there that’s waiting for you to mess up and pay a steep penalty.Sullivan, Monday.
Max Chan (a)
The second amateur inside the top five. Chan made seven birdies against two bogeys and pointed to birdies at the third and fourth for getting him going. His formula was the simple one that keeps coming up in every interview at Turtleback: driver in the fairway, then putt well.
That’s one of the hardest parts of this course. It’s pretty tight out there.Chan, Monday.
Wil Collins
The 2012 New Mexico Open champion and the reigning Sun Country PGA Section champion, a title he won at UNM Championship Golf Course in August. Collins made four birdies and an eagle Monday and plays alongside the defending champion in the first group off the 10th tee.
Tee times worth knowing
- Notah Begay III, the 1998 champion, shot 71 and goes at 8:42 a.m. off No. 10 with Javier Delgadillo of El Paso, last year’s low amateur.
- Matt Every, two-time winner of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, shot 71 and goes at 1:06 p.m. off No. 1 with Trevor Simsby and Andrew Willis.
- Sean O’Hair, a four-time PGA TOUR winner, shot 71 and goes at 1:24 p.m. off No. 1 with Ben Lorenz and Alex Price.
- TK Kim (68) is in the first group off No. 1 at 7:30 a.m. with Zac Jones, who made nine birdies Monday and still signed for 71.
- Justin Sheparovich (68) is off No. 1 at 7:39 a.m. Dylan Healey (68) anchors the second-to-last group at 2:00 p.m. with Kyle Hogan and Jacob Bergeron, both at 69.
- Maurice Allen, the 2018 World Long Drive champion, plays with Funkhouser at 7:39 a.m. off No. 10.
Where Round 1 was won and lost
The scoring hole so far. Sullivan and Funkhouser both eagled it Monday, Lundell and Chan birdied it, and Sullivan called it a challenging par 5 he has always had a good rapport with. The afternoon leaders reach it early in their round.
The longest par 5 on the course and the first hole for half the field. Sullivan opened Monday with a double bogey here and Begay made 6. Funkhouser, Lundell, Thomas and Collins all start their second round on this tee.
The hardest hole on the course in last year’s final round, when it averaged 4.59 and gave up two birdies all day. Lundell’s only bogey Monday came here. Chervony’s closing run of three birdies started on the hole after it.
Three things the players kept saying
The tee shot decides the hole. Every player interviewed Monday said some version of the same thing: Turtleback is won off the tee. Chervony’s fat part of the fairway, Funkhouser’s driver, Chan’s driver in play, Sullivan’s trouble waiting for you. Watch where the leaders aim on the par 4s, not just where the ball finishes.
The rough is different this year. Thomas and Sullivan both said the fairways are wider and the rough thinner than 2025, when it was three to four inches thick. Sullivan thinks that makes the course a little more scoreable. Thomas said it also changes strategy, because a slightly pulled drive can now run through the rough into worse.
The wind comes up in the afternoon. Chervony said the wind picked up late Monday and made the tee shots on the front nine the toughest stretch of his day. The final group tees off at 2:09 p.m., so the leader, Chan and Sullivan will play their whole round in it.
How Tuesday works. Monday’s afternoon wave played Round 2 this morning. Monday’s morning wave, including Chervony, Chan and Sullivan, plays this afternoon. Round 2 pairings and starting times are on BlueGolf.
Groups to follow
Title Partner Turtleback Mountain Golf & Resort · Presenting Partner New Mexico True · Host Organization Sun Country PGA Section