Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: National champion Rebels stick with same approach

BRIAN HILDERBRAND is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. His golf column appears Tuesdays. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]

UNLV head golf coach Dwaine Knight isn't about to change his philosophy just because his team is the defending national champion.

The Rebels open the 1998-99 season next week in Japan and Knight said he will approach this tournament -- and, indeed, the entire season -- exactly as he has each of the past 10.

"I don't think our goals will change at all," Knight said. "Our goals are to be competitive and to be in position to win those (tournaments) going into the last round. I think everything we've built over these 10 years to get ourselves in position to win the national championship is the same things you have to do to defend it. That's our program, that's the thrust of our goals."

Throughout his tenure as the Rebels' head coach, Knight's mantra has been "reload, not rebuild." That is precisely what he has done in preparation for this season.

Although the Rebels lost senior and team leader Bill Lunde to graduation, UNLV has reloaded in a big way with the addition of junior-college transfer Michael Kirk and freshman Adam Scott. Kirk is the reigning junior college national champion and Scott has played an extensive international schedule out of his native Australia.

Kirk and Scott, along with incoming freshmen Brien Davis, Robert Sul and Tyler Mays, will complement a group that features returning players Jeremy Anderson, Chris Berry, Charley Hoffman, Scott Lander and redshirt freshmen Christian Thornley and Scott Wingfield. Berry and Hoffman are the lone seniors on the 11-man squad.

The Rebels open their spring season next Wednesday at the Topy Cup in Tanagura, Japan.

* AMATEUR RANKINGS: Thanks to his recent performance in the U.S. Amateur Championship, UNLV graduate Bill Lunde climbed to fourth in the latest GolfWeek/Titleist Men's Amateur Rankings. Lunde, who helped lead the Rebels to the NCAA championship in the spring, advanced to the semifinals of the Amateur before losing to eventual champion Hank Kuehne. UNLV junior Michael Kirk, a transfer from Wallace Junior College in Alabama, is tied for 15th in the latest rankings; UNLV senior Chris Berry is tied for 36th and Rebel freshman Adam Scott is tied for 47th. Kirk and Scott qualified for match play at the U.S. Amateur.

* AROUND THE GREEN: The entry deadline is Sept. 15 for the Northwest Dodge Dealers Pacific Amateur Golf Classic, to be played Sept. 27-Oct. 1 on five Central Oregon golf courses. The entry fee is $375 and includes three days of golf. Call 1-800-800-8334 for details. ... The Hemophilia Foundation of Nevada will hold its sixth annual golf tournament on Sunday, Sept. 27, at Angel Park Golf Club. The entry fee for the pro-am, which will be played in conjunction with the Las Vegas Chapter of the PGA, is $150 per player. Call 564-4368 for additional information.

* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour is in Ontario, Canada, this week for the Bell Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf and Country Club. Steve Jones is the defending champion; ESPN will televise. ... The Senior PGA Tour visits Indianapolis this week for the Comfort Classic at the Brickyard, played on the Brickyard Crossing course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. David Graham won last year's tournament; ESPN will televise. ... The LPGA Tour is in Kent, Wash., for the Safeco Classic at Meridian Valley Country Club. Karrie Webb is the defending champion; The Golf Channel will televise.

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