Las Vegas, Nevada (December 15, 2012)–Kevin Penner is peaking. During the fall college golf season at UNLV, he finished no worse than 9th place in a tournament, and he has now won three prestigious tournaments. Over the summer he won the Sahalee Players Championship, and recently he captured the Sun Bowl Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic. And now he has earned the Nevada Open crown, defeating a field of mostly professionals by five shots. –By Brian Hurlburt
The UNLV senior fired rounds of 63-63-65 for a 54-hole total of 191 to win the Nevada Open. The tournament was played at Casablanca and The Palms the first two days, and finished at Casablanca on the final day. Dusty Fielding and John Hann tied for low professional honors at 196. Full results may be found by clicking here.
It was Penner’s second-straight tournament win as it came on the heels of the Sun Bowl win in the event played in El Paso, Texas. The Sahalee tournament is known as one of the biggest amateur tournaments in the country. The Nevada Open is played in Mesquite, Nevada, a golf destination located about 77 miles north of Las Vegas. Click to MesquiteGolfNow.com for more Mesquite golf information.
In four team tournaments for UNLV during the fall season, Penner finished no worse than ninth and his best finish was a tie for second at the PING/Golfweek Preview Invitational. He leads the team in scoring average with 71.09 per round. The UNLV men’s golf team will open its spring season Feb. 20, at the John Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii.