He could go pro, but is staying put

By Brian Hilderbrand

Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Seung-Su Han finished his practice round and joined a few of his UNLV teammates gathered behind the 18th green at Southern Highlands Golf Club. As he cleaned his clubs and joked with the other players, he looked for all the world like any other collegiate golfer.

Dwaine Knight, UNLV’s longtime men’s golf coach, knows better. Han, a 21-year-old junior, is special — not only because of his talent at working a ball around a golf course, but for his ability to tackle one of the biggest decisions of his young life.

Han last month became the first collegiate golfer to advance to the finals of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. Although he did not secure playing privileges on the PGA Tour — his ultimate goal — Han did earn conditional status on the Nationwide Tour and, had he opted to turn pro, could have played in about a dozen tournaments this year.

Though the lure of playing professionally and earning a paycheck for playing a game would be difficult for many of his peers to turn down, Han took a few days to mull it over and then decided to return to UNLV and complete his studies in sociology and hotel management.

The decision, Han said, wasn’t really that difficult.

“One of the main reasons I’m staying is because I want to be ready when I get out there on tour,” he said. “I figured with conditional status on the Nationwide Tour, I could play some tournaments and get out there and go through that whole thing because a lot of guys don’t even have that.

“But then I thought I wouldn’t be ready as much as if I spent my time here. I could get more prepared in what I do physically, my golf swing and all that. If I stay in school, I can be really, really prepared when I get out there.”

It was a decision that relieved Knight — but one that didn’t necessarily surprise him.

“I think his decision to come back was a very mature one because he wasn’t kidding himself,” Knight said. “Those guys are really good out there (on tour) and that’s where he wants to be, and I think he has the talent to get there.”

As further evidence of Han’s maturity, Knight said, Han did not return to UNLV with an attitude or a chip on his shoulder after coming so close to achieving a lifelong dream.

“He wanted to see what it was like to go through it, and then to get in it and be very competitive was terrific,” Knight said. “It’s a win-win for him and I think he sees where he can still get better and grow and get stronger to play at the next level.

“He’s not back just to pass time; he wants to get better and improve.”

And win.

Han was born in Incheon, South Korea, attended high school in Florida and was the American Junior Golf Association player of the year in 2002. He won five junior tournaments that year, one more than Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson ever did.

Although he has enjoyed a successful amateur career, Han has yet to be a dominant force at the collegiate level. He was named the Mountain West Conference freshman of the year in 2006 and last year was an all-conference selection.

“But I haven’t even won yet,” Han pointed out.

Han said he hopes to change that as the Rebels open the spring portion of their schedule Monday in the Ping Arizona Intercollegiate Tournament in Tucson. It wouldn’t surprise Knight if Han’s collegiate career took off as a result of his experience at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.

“I think this gives him the chance to really get out there and see if he can dominate at this level,” Knight said. “He knows what it takes to get your Tour card and it’s the same thing at this level — getting in there and getting those wins.

“I think that will help him at the next level, too, because he’s very, very capable and, in turn, it’ll certainly help our team.”