Las Vegas, Nevada (March 9, 2014)–As this is being written, the UNLV Men's Golf Team is in the midst of the final round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters. Throught two rounds, the Rebels were leading the event as a team and four players were in the top 10 individually. The prestigious tournament, which annually features one of the toughest fields in college golf, includes seven of the top-10 ranked teams in the country according to Golfweek. In addition, 11 of the 15 teams competing are ranked in the top 20. All participants this year are ranked in the nation’s top 50 and the field features 20 of the top-30 ranked individuals. LIVE SCORING. –By Brian Hurlburt.
The Rebels’ 36-hole total of 16-over 592 was two shots ahead of second-place Stanford. The Cardinal were 9-over during the second round and are 18-over for the tournament. UCLA and Alabama were both tied for third after both shot 11-over on Saturday and are 22-over for the tournament. Oklahoma State rounded out the top five at 25-over.
Individually, Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers shot a tournament-low 3-under 69 during the second round to take a two-shot lead at 1-under 143. UCLA’s Jonathan Garrick was second at 1-over, followed by Alabama’s Robby Shelton in third at 2-over. Rodgers was the only one of the 81 individuals competing to be under par after 36 holes.
There were four UNLV golfers all tied for eighth at 4-over 148: junior Carl Jonson (second-round 6-over 78), junior Kurt Kitayama (2-over 74), freshman Taylor Montgomery (5-over 77) and sophomore Zane Thomas (2-over 74). Freshman Redford Bobbitt was tied for 75th after shooting 7-over on Saturday.
“The weather was better (Saturday) and the greens were a little bit firmer,” UNLV head coach Dwaine Knight said. “Players really had to work hard to have the ball in the right position. The course played tough today but there was still good scoring out there. I thought we fought and played hard all the way through today, but didn’t get the results we wanted. We have the lead but will really have to bring it tomorrow.
“We haven’t played with the lead much this year, so we are excited about the opportunity especially with this quality of a field. We are looking forward to it. It will be a great experience for this group.”
Rebels playing as individuals: freshman Chris Tuulik is tied for 63rd at 16-over (second-round 8-over), freshman Kenden Slattery is tied for 75th at 20-over (10-over), freshman James Feutz is 78th at 22-over (18-over) and sophomore AJ McInernery, who withdrew during the first round because of back issues, shot 6-over during the second round.