Tuesday, March 4, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
SANTEE, Calif. -- After watching his team struggle around the Carlton Oaks Country Club for 36 holes, UNLV head golf coach Dwaine Knight was struck with one overriding emotion: relief.
"It's really good to get this under our belt -- I'm glad we added this tournament to our schedule because I think we could have made some of the same mistakes in the spring," Knight said of Carlton Oaks, which will be the site of the NCAA West Regional in May.
"Hopefully we can iron those (mistakes) out a little bit and be real ready when we come back here."
The No. 1-ranked Rebels butchered the par-3s and never adjusted to the greens Monday during the first two rounds of the Aldila Collegiate Golf Classic. As a result, UNLV shot 10-over-par 586 as a team and trailed 12th-ranked Southern Cal by nine shots entering today's final round.
Senior Mike Ruiz was the lone bright spot for the Rebels, posting rounds of 71 and 70 for second place, two shots behind USC's Chad Wright.
"I was very pleased with Mike Ruiz," Knight said. "He struggled in Hawaii (two weeks ago) and the other guys picked him up. Now, he has picked us up here when the rest of us are struggling."
Ruiz, who grew up in nearby San Diego and played Carlton Oaks regularly before coming to UNLV, conceded he is putting pressure on himself to play well in this tournament.
"I wanted to play well in front of my parents and in my hometown," Ruiz said. "This is the first time we've come here to play ... it's special to come home."
After winning two tournaments this season and being ranked No. 1 in the Rolex Collegiate Rankings since October, the Rebels may be due for a wake-up call, Ruiz said.
"It seems like we're just kind of in cruise control, winning a couple of tournaments and beating all these teams -- those are the kind that sneak up on you and beat you," he said. "We just can't slack off; we need to go out (today) and play like we know we can."
Ruiz was the only Rebel golfer who didn't struggle on Carlton Oaks' relatively tame par-3s. While Ruiz played the four holes at even par for the day, his teammates seemingly couldn't make par to save their lives.
UNLV was a combined 18 over par on the 190-yard seventh hole and the 168-yard 12th hole during the two rounds.
"I thought we were real passive (in the morning round) and they kind of ate us up a little bit," Knight said of the par-3s.
"Seven, especially, is just not a hole that we should have that much trouble with. If we hit the green, we three-putted, if we missed the green, we didn't get up and down."
Even when the Rebels hit the putting surface in regulation, they had trouble rolling their putts on the tricky poa annua greens. Knight said the grass -- which most golf course superintendents consider a weed and go to great lengths to destroy -- led to uneven putting surfaces.
"I think we were very, very frustrated on the greens," Knight said. "I knew from (our Sunday practice round) that was going to be something we really needed to emphasize and be positive on and it got to us a little bit today. The type of grass it is, it grows uneven and as the day goes on, the ball is going to hop a lot more on you.
"I'm disappointed we didn't handle the greens as well as I thought we would but they were difficult for everybody and some teams still managed to score. You've got to be able to play what's in front of you and we didn't quite get that done today."
Southern Cal got the job done in the morning round, shooting a blistering 8-under-par 280 and taking a seven-shot lead over Arizona and Pepperdine after 18 holes. But when the wind picked up in the afternoon, the Trojans couldn't adjust and shot 9-over-par 297 and allowed the Wildcats, Waves and Rebels to close the gap.
UNLV was one of only four teams in the 18-team field that scored better in the afternoon round; the Rebels' 3-over-par 291 was the second-best round of the afternoon.
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