May 19—By all accounts, it was supposed to be a regular freshman year for Clark Sonnenberg.
One of Albuquerque’s best junior golfers would play a little here, a little there and develop behind a UNM men’s golf team roster filled with veteran talent. But there were no plans for him to be a rotation piece, a mainstay on a team bound to compete for a national championship.
“By no means did we expect him (to play) in every event the way he has,” head coach Jake Harrington said Monday, “and nor did we expect him to step up as big as he did.”
Sonnenberg turned in a 4-under 68 during the second round of last week’s NCAA Tallahassee Regional, a crucial performance on a day only one Lobo shot under par. With the final round looming, the Albuquerque Academy graduate helped steady his “dream school” on the leaderboard — all as a freshman who wasn’t expected to be there in the first place.
“We told Clark he’s not a freshman anymore,” Harrington recalled. “(We said), ‘we need you to be a sophomore.’ And, you know, he took care of business.”
An Albuquerque native, Sonnenberg grew into one of the region’s best junior golfers, travelling and performing at a high level in out-of-state tournaments. But the dream was always to stay at home: Sonnenberg developed a relationship with former UNM men’s golf coach Glen Millican over the years, and fulfilled a dream he had since he was 8 years old by committing to the Lobos in 2023.
And then Millican left for Missouri that summer. The coach Sonnenberg had known for years was suddenly out of the picture, a major concern for any recruit.
Except for Sonnenberg.
“When he called me and told me he was going to Missouri, I said, ‘sorry coach, I want to stay home and be a Lobo,'” he said Monday.
But even that loyalty didn’t guarantee him a spot in the rotation. If Harrington said Sonnenberg’s quick rise wasn’t initially in the cards, it was fueled by his equally rapid maturation as a golfer this season.
As Sonnenberg started collecting tournament appearances, he focused on consistency in shots and mellowing his approach. If he was more aggressive as a high school player, Sonnenberg in college started to lean on making pars and “let the hole get in the way” of birdies instead of angling for the big play.
As that approach developed, the results trended in the right direction. Sonnenberg ended up playing in all of UNM’s events, making his strongest run at the end of the regular season with finishes at even or under par in three straight tournaments.
Over time, his confidence started to surge: “Even when I play against him, (he says), ‘hey coach, are you gonna break 80 today?'” Harrington said with a smile. “I’m like, ‘Clark, you know who I am — like I understand I haven’t played in a long time, but I’m gonna break 80.’
“That’s just Clark. Clark feels like he can beat anybody on any given week.”
That all showed at Seminole National Golf Club in Tallahassee, Florida last week. Part of UNM’s practice round was rained out and players weren’t able to see much of the course: “We were all kind of nervous,” Sonnenberg admitted, “because it’s not an easy course by any means.”
Playing what amounted to a blind first round Monday, Sonnenberg birdied his first hole and made 17 straight pars for a one-under 71 — not a particularly low score, but enough to give him confidence heading into Tuesday.
In the second round, he made birdie on two of his first four holes before carding a bogey on Seminole’s par-3 fourth hole, the only stroke he’d give up all day. Sonnenberg went on to make birdie three holes on the back nine, finishing with a 68 at the perfect time for UNM.
“I just made so many putts,” he said. “I hit the ball great. It was an all-around great day.”
Sonnenberg went on to card a 7-over 79 in the final round and finish at 2-over on the week. But the rest of the team picked up where he left off, shooting 12-under on the day to finish third and qualify for this week’s NCAA Championships at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
In other words, another opportunity for Sonnenberg in a freshman year he admitted has exceeded expectations.
“I’m a little nervous, to be honest,” he said. “But if I can turn those nerves into excitement, I think we have a great team, great leaders, great coaches … I think we can easily go out there and put up and a couple good rounds and see where we line up at the end of the day.”
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