Finkelstein and Rebels looking to go out on high note at NCAA Championships

By Taylor Bern

Friday, May 22, 2015 | 2 a.m.

The origin of Dana Finkelstein, great collegiate golfer, started early in her UNLV career, when the 5-foot-2 native of Chandler, Ariz., added muscle to her frame that resulted in extra distance on her drives. Adding the yardage to compete with bigger competitors was a necessary development, and paired with her abilities away from the tee box it helped create the player who recently won Mountain West Golfer of the Year for the third straight year.

“She’s our most decorated athlete at UNLV,” said coach Amy Bush-Herzer.

The origin of Dana Finkelstein, golfer, was simpler. Occasionally her father, Jay Finkelstein, who’s still a 3- or 4-handicap on the course, wanted some company on trips to the driving range.

“As a toddler he’d bring me to the range with my plastic clubs,” Finkelstein said.

She’s got a natural swing, they said. The plastic set eventually transformed into irons and that swing stayed true, sending balls consistently down the middle and at their target.

Finkelstein started playing competitively as a freshman at Corona Del Sol High, but while she had some interest, there weren’t a ton of college offers awaiting her. Bush-Herzer’s belief in Finkelstein’s potential was one of the main reasons she chose UNLV, and thanks to that continued rise the Rebels are in the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2008.

“All the hard work has paid off,” Finkelstein said.

UNLV placed fourth at the St. George Regional, qualifying the team for the NCAA tournament starting today at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.

Last year Finkelstein qualified individually for the tournament and finished tied for 33rd, including her first career hole-in-one. This year the goal was always to travel as a group and based on the Rebels’ play in the fall, including two second-place finishes and a win, they felt like the pieces were in place.

The emergence of freshmen Harley Dubsky and Mackenzie Raim helped fill out the lineup, and with Finkelstein winning the regional’s individual title, the Rebels were able to see their dream become a reality. Transitioning from that achievement to trying to make waves at the NCAAs, Bush-Herzer said she wants the team to keep the same mentality they had going into St. George.

“We’ve got a good team and we know it, so we wanted to keep them working but keep it light and fun,” Bush-Herzer said.

Over four seasons, Finkelstein has claimed nearly every individual award possible. She’s been all-conference, all-region, academic all-district and all-America, plus she’s still up for a couple of national player of the year awards after posting a program-record 71.43 scoring average this season, the fourth best in the country.

Since winning the Mountain West’s Co-Freshman of the Year award with teammate Mayko Chwen Wang in 2012, Finkelstein has dropped her score each season, going from 75.21 to 74.28 to last season’s 72.11. A few more low rounds — the team champ is decided after three rounds of stroke play and then match play among the top eight teams — would send Finkelstein out as the program’s all-time leader in scoring average.

“I knew if I kept working and progressing the way I was I could be one of the top players in the nation,” Finkelstein said.

That’s exactly what happened and no matter how UNLV does at the NCAA Championships, Finkelstein’s continued progress has put her in position to immediately chase a professional golf career. She said she’ll probably play some events in the Cactus Tour, a mini-tour based in Arizona, and then in August start at Stage I of the LPGA’s Qualifying School, a three-step process to become a full member of the top pro league.

Q-School sometimes takes players years to get through, if at all, so while both Finkelstein and Bush-Herzer, who will be Finkelstein’s caddy at Stage I, are confident about the future, they’re aware of the difficulties that come with going pro. It probably won’t be a steady progression like Finkelstein has had at UNLV, but those are tomorrow’s challenges.

Today, the great collegiate golfer has the entire team with her on the big stage, a place that has become quite comfortable for Finkelstein.

“Being in the spotlight the last four years, I thrive on that,” she said said. “… I like being able to go out there and perform for people.”

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.