May 16, 2009–The No. 21 UNLV men's golf team shot a second-round 5-over-par 289 and is in fourth place at the 2009 NCAA Men's Golf Austin Regional, which is being played at The University of Texas Golf Club (par 71, 7,412 yards). Host Texas took over the team lead after a 1-over 285 on Friday to lead the field by two shots at 8-over 576 after 36 holes of play. Texas Tech dropped out of the top spot and has a 10-over total after a second-round 12-over 296. Florida remained in third after shooting a 3-over 287 and is 12-over for the tournament, while UNLV sits at 17-over after two rounds. Stanford rounds out the top five at 25-over after a second-round 15-over 299. The low five teams and low individual not on those teams will advance to the NCAA Championship.
Lance Lopez of Texas shot a second-round 2-under 69 and has sole possession of the tournament's individual lead at 5-under 137. UNLV's Eddie Olson also fired a 2-under 69 on Friday and is in second place, four shots back at 1-under 141. Lopez and Olson are the only two golfers in the field under par after 36 holes.
"I hit a lot of greens today and gave myself a lot of chances," Olson said. "The course is still a tough one, but I've been playing solid the last two days and have kept myself out of position to make high numbers. I'm very pleased with both of my rounds. "From a team perspective, we are really pleased where we stand heading into the final round. We've all worked together to put ourselves in position, and now it's down to just one more day."
Lamar's Hugues Joannes and Travis Reid from New Mexico State are tied for third at even-par 142.
Other Rebel players: Ji Moon is tied for 11th at 4-over 146 after a second-round 1-over 72, Colby Smith is tied for 24th at 6-over 148 after a second-round 4-over 75, Derek Ernst is tied for 34th at 8-over 150 after a second-round 2-over 73 and Brett Kanda is tied for 48th at 12-over 154 after a second-round 4-over 75.
The NCAA Regionals are made up of six 54-hole tournaments that are being conducted to determine the 30 qualifying teams and six individuals not on those qualifying teams who will advance to the finals. Thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on those teams are competing at each of three regionals, including Austin, while the other three regionals have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams.
Final-round play of the Austin Regional will get underway on Saturday, May 16 at 8:30 a.m. CDT. UNLV is set to tee off from 8:50 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Live stats are available courtesy of Golfstat through a link on UNLVRebels.com. The 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship will be held May 26-30 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
Report: Andy Grossman, Director of Media Relations, UNLV Athletics