Rebels open golf title drive on familiar turf

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- After UNLV's disastrous opening round in last year's NCAA Men's Golf Championships, UNLV head coach Dwaine Knight knows all too well the importance of getting off to a good start in the national finals.

After playing practice rounds on the University of New Mexico Championship Course Monday and Tuesday, the Rebels knew precisely what it would take to do that as the tournament got under way today.

"It's a good golf course for us," Knight said of the 7,248-yard layout where the Rebels won the Ping Preview Invitational in the fall. "The big key for us is we have to attack the par fives."

In order to do that, however, the No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Rebels first must hit the fairways, then not panic or get too aggressive if they find the thick rough that borders the landing areas.

"What we have to be able to do, if we hit it in trouble off the tee, is have the patience to get the ball back in the fairway because the rough is deep and the greens are hard and fast," Knight said. "If we have the patience to do that and we stick to our game plan, I think our team will do well."

Knight has more than a cursory knowledge of the Championship Course, having spent 10 years as the head golf coach at UNM before taking the UNLV position. The Rebels finished fourth at the 1992 NCAA Championships here and placed third (in 1991) and fifth (1995) in two NCAA West Regionals held in Albuquerque.

"I love this course," Knight said. "I know the nuances of the golf course about as well as anybody. We're comfortable with it as a team, we know it (because) we've played two tournaments there already (this season)."

The Rebels' win here earlier this season -- their first of a school-record six victories -- will give them added confidence going into today's first round, senior Bill Lunde said.

"I think it's a great course for us," said Lunde, who tied for fourth place in the Preview at UNM earlier this year. "It's long and you have to hit the ball well here. It's a ball-striker's golf course and I think that kind of favors our team."

UNLV is paired with No. 2 seed Clemson and third-seed Georgia Tech today and tomorrow. Lunde, playing in the No. 1 position for the Rebels this week, is paired with Georgia Tech's Matt Kuchar, the highest-placing amateur at this year's Masters.

Joel Kribel of Stanford, the only other amateur to survive the cut at The Masters, Kuchar and Jeremy Anderson and Lunde of UNLV are among the favorites to contend for the individual championship.

archive