NMSU's Emma Bunch named CUSA Women's Golfer of the Year for third straight year
New Mexico State’s Emma Bunch was named Conference USA Women’s Golfer of the Year for the third consecutive year, the league announced Thursday. The senior from Lynge, Denmark joins TCU’s Brooke Hull and Tulane’s Pam Bluff as the third women’s golfer in CUSA history to win the award three times. She is currently the 88th-ranked NCAA golfer after a spring season that saw her finish near the top of the leaderboard in every event.
NMSU’s Rylee Salome — a Tomé native and Belen High School graduate — was also named All-CUSA as a true freshman Thursday. After winning The Clash at Boulder Creek in the fall, Bunch ripped off five straight top 10s in NMSU’s spring season, culminating with a second overall finish at the CUSA Championship. She carded a 7-under-par 65 in the final round to close at 2 under through 54 holes, trailing Western Kentucky’s Reagan Ramage by a stroke.
NMSU tied for third overall with Sam Houston State in the team standings at 23 over. Bunch will compete in next week’s NCAA Stanford Regional (May 11-13) as the site’s top-seeded individual. She competed as an individual the last two years, but did advance to the NCAA Championship.
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal. com or via X at @lenaweereider.