Columnist Victoria Sun: Rebels tuning up for Hawaii trip

Victoria Sun's golf column appears Wednesday. Reach her at 259-4078 or [email protected]

UNLV golf coach Dwaine Knight's philosophy has been simple from Day 1 -- to be the best you must play the best, even if it means being embarrassed once in a while.

So when Knight became the Rebels' head coach 13 years ago, he started scheduling any top team in the country willing to play his team.

"When we started the program and we were playing the best, I remember we got beat up early," he said.

But it didn't take long before the Rebels became one of the teams to beat instead of being the team getting beat up on.

With a newfound respect that came through recruiting good players and consistently winning, Knight no longer had to call schools seeking matches.

"It (being invited to the top tournaments) gives us a good indicator of where we are," he said.

Today, the ninth-ranked Rebels are in the midst of three rounds of qualifying to help determine who will make the team's first trip of the spring season to Honolulu on Saturday to play in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate.

The top two Rebels get automatic spots and Knight will pick the remaining three. By Thursday, Knight will know who makes the cut.

The Rebels' last tournament was the Golfworld Collegiate Invitational Nov. 5-7 where the team tied for seventh among 18 teams.

After taking the holidays off, the Rebels started working together again in February.

"I've been very pleased with the work ethic of the guys," Knight said. "I think their mental attitude is strong; they're committed to being competitive.

"If we keep our work ethic, the guys are going to be in a position to compete. We have a lot of pride in Rebel golf."

UNLV's best finish last fall was a tie for first at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate with then-No. 1 Clemson.

"I thought we had great play from several individuals, but couldn't put it together as a group," Knight said. "It's kind of like a normal fall. We use it to see where we are and how we might play."

The spring season will be a challenge.

One of the team's top players, Adam Scott, announced that he would not be back for the spring season so he could concentrate on playing professional tournaments as an amateur. Because of his departure, Knight will have to juggle the lineup to find what he thinks will be the most successful combination of players.

"We're certainly going to have a different lineup than what we anticipated, but I think we're going to surprise a lot of people," Knight said. "It's more fun for me because I get to coach more than I normally would.

"Jeremy Anderson, Michael Kirk, Scott Lander, I would imagine them to be the core of the team. From there I think we can have a lot of combinations that can be very effective.

"I want to see people separate themselves during qualifying."

* HOLE IN ONE: George Petroff recently recorded his first ace since he started playing golf 50 years ago. Petroff scored a hole in one on the 12th hole of the Las Vegas Golf Club last month. Petroff, 73, hit his 9-iron from 126 yards for the ace. He plays twice a week. "I've been waiting 70 years for this," he said. "I kept telling the guys that I play with that I'd like to get a hole in one before I die."

* SENIOR CLASSIC: Bruce Fleischer, the Senior PGA Tour's top money winner of 1999, has committed to play in the Las Vegas Senior Classic. The tournament will be played at the TPC Summerlin April 19-23.

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