Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Rebels ready to defend title

( Brian Hilderbrand's golf notebook appears Wednesday. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at 259-4089 or [email protected].

UNLV begins its national-title defense in earnest next week as the Rebels begin the spring portion of their schedule with a pair of tournaments in Hawaii.

The Rebels capped an abbreviated four-tournament fall season with a victory in November at the prestigious GolfWorld Collegiate Invitational on Hilton Head Island.

Head coach Dwaine Knight is hoping to carry that momentum into the nine-tournament spring season, which culminates with the NCAA Championships in June at Hazeltine Country Club in Minnesota.

"We're excited about the spring," Knight said. "I think finishing on a strong note in the fall was very important for us. In meeting with the guys when they first got back, all of them stated their goal was to get back in shape to challenge for the national championship.

"We know how special that would be, to be able to win two (national titles) in a row, but it's a tough thing to do and we know how much hard work it took us to get it last year. We're hopeful we can get back in that position and I think they feel confident that we have a team where if we get in the mix, with the experience we have, we can be a real factor."

The GolfWorld tournament was the Rebels' lone team title in the fall, and Knight is looking to next week's Hawaiian tournaments to set the tone for the spring -- much as they did last year.

"Hawaii kind of kicked us off in the spring last year because we ended up sweeping both those tournaments," Knight said.

Although the Rebels received solid play in the fall from junior Jeremy Anderson and junior-college transfer Michael Kirk, Knight said UNLV will have to get more consistent play from its third through fifth players if it is to contend for the national championship.

Anderson led the Rebels with two titles in the fall (including a win in the Savane College All-America Golf Classic for All-American honorees) and a 72.18 stroke average, and Kirk had one top-five finish and a 73.18 average.

"Jeremy is playing at a very high level right now with two wins," Knight said, "and I like the way Michael Kirk has come in and played. He has really strengthened us tremendously."

Senior Charley Hoffman posted the third-lowest scoring average at 73.88 and was the only other Rebel to average under 74 strokes a round in the fall. Senior Chris Berry, who was instrumental in leading the Rebels to the national title at Albuquerque, N.M., last summer, struggled with a 75.09 average in the fall, sophomore Scott Lander finished at 75.50 with one top-20 showing and freshman Adam Scott averaged 76.13.

"I think our depth has to again be a factor for us this year," Knight said. "Last year, our balance from one to five was just extraordinary."

"If Charlie Hoffman and Chris Berry can step up and also have a chance to win some individual tournaments, then that really gives us some firepower. Our fifth spot, with Scott Lander and Adam Scott, if we can get them to step up like we had Scott do last year in that spot, that's really going to help us."

The Rebels leave for the Islands next Tuesday and open the spring season at the Taylor Made/Waikoloa Intercollegiate Thursday through Saturday in Waikoloa. The John A. Burns Intercollegiate will be held Feb. 17-19 in Kaneohe.

UNLV will play its lone tournament at home in the Golf Digest Collegiate Invitational, March 12-14 at the Desert Inn Golf Club.

* ALLIN GETS EXEMPTION: Boulder City resident Bud Allin has accepted a sponsor's exemption to play in next week's Senior PGA Tour event, the American Express Invitational, at the TPC at Prestancia in Sarasota, Fla.

Allin picked up his lone Senior Tour victory at the American Express Invitational in 1997 when he defeated Las Vegas resident Jim Colbert by one shot.

* LIFE OF RILEY: Chris Riley, a four-time All-American at UNLV, finished tied for 52nd and earned $7,140 at last weekend's Phoenix Open for his second payday in as many starts on the PGA Tour.

Riley, who will play in this week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, ranks 37th on the money list with $82,800, is fourth in putting and 10th in scoring (69.21).

* WOMEN IN GOLF: The Las Vegas chapter of the Executive Women's Golf Association will hold four "Range Help" clinics from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. each Saturday in February at the Callaway Golf Center.

For $10 a week, EWGA members receive unlimited range balls at the Callaway Center for the entire afternoon. Anyone interested in joining the EWGA, or obtaining additional information about "Range Help," can call 260-0929.

* CHIP SHOTS: Las Vegas resident Bob May finished fifth in the Heineken Classic last weekend in Perth, Australia. ... Tiger Woods will team with actor Kevin Costner, fellow PGA Tour pro Mark O'Meara and Seattle Mariners outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., in this week's Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. ... Following his third-place finish at the Phoenix Open, Woods extended his lead over David Duval in the world golf rankings. Woods tops the rankings with 11.78 points while Duval, who finished 18th at Phoenix, is second with 11.18 points. ... The 524-yard fourth hole at Steve Wynn's Shadow Creek Golf Club was ranked the 20th best par-5 hole in America in a poll by Golf Digest magazine. The publication's "America's 99 Greatest Golf Holes" appears in its March issue.

* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour is in the scenic coastal resort of Pebble Beach, Calif., this week for the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Phil Mickelson won last year's event, which was suspended after two rounds due to rain and completed in August. The USA cable network will televise Thursday and Friday; CBS will cover the weekend rounds. ...

The Senior PGA Tour is in Key Biscayne, Fla., for the Royal Caribbean Classic -- the first full-field event of the season. David Graham won the longest playoff in Senior Tour history, beating Dave Stockton on the 10th extra hole in 1998. ESPN will televise Friday through Sunday. ...

The LPGA Tour is idle this week.

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