Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship

By Brian Hilderbrand

Friday, March 7, 2008 | 2 a.m.

If you can’t make it to Indiana in May to see the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, make sure you check out the Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship this weekend at Southern Highlands Golf Club.

The tournament, which moved to its current home in 2002, often draws a stronger field than the NCAA finals and this year is no exception. Seven of the top 10 teams in the nation and six of the top 10 individual players will tee up Friday through Sunday.

The list of players who have competed in this tournament is impressive and includes many who have gone on to play on the PGA Tour. Jay Don Blake, Billy Mayfair, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, David Duval, Camilo Villegas and Ryan Moore are just a few of the players who won medalist honors in this tournament before moving up to the PGA Tour.

Here are five teams to watch this weekend as UNLV hosts its only tournament of the season:

1. Georgia

The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in the country by Golfweek magazine and ended the fall season with a pair of victories. Georgia, which won its second NCAA team championship in 2005, boasts two of the top 10-ranked players in the country in freshmen Harris English (No. 5) and Russell Henley (No. 9).

2. Oklahoma State

The Cowboys have one of the most successful programs in the nation and are the model for Dwaine Knight’s program at UNLV. Oklahoma State is ranked fourth by Golfweek and is led by the top-ranked player in the country, freshman Rickie Fowler. The Cowboys have one victory as a team in five tournaments this season.

3. UNC Charlotte

A relative newcomer as a collegiate golf power, the 49ers come to Las Vegas as the third-ranked team in the country. Charlotte won four consecutive tournaments in the fall and has an impressive 13-3-1 record this season against top-25 teams.

The 49ers have two players, senior Jonas Enander Hedin and junior Stefan Wiedergruen, ranked among the top 20 in the country.

4. UCLA

The Bruins are the defending champion of this tournament, junior Lucas Lee was the individual medalist and senior Kevin Chappell is the fourth-ranked player in the country. Enough said. Oh, yeah — the Bruins also won three consecutive tournaments in the fall and have had three individual winners.

5. UNLV

Don’t count out the Rebels on their home course. Erratic play in the fall has UNLV ranked 22nd in the nation. The Rebels have shown signs of life of late, finishing no worse than fourth in their past five outings. UNLV won this event at Southern Highlands in 2005 and 2006 and senior Matt Kinsinger was the individual champion in 2006. Junior Seung-Su Han leads the Rebels with a 69.20 scoring average and has three top-10 finishes in five tournaments.