UNLV golf: Spiked Aztecs docked

Friday, May 16, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

SANTEE, Calif. -- The trend of golf courses banning metal spikes in favor of soft plastic cleats may be a welcome relief for golfers and greens keepers. But it proved disastrous for the San Diego State golf team.

Three players from San Diego State wore metal spikes during the first round of the NCAA West Regional Championship Thursday at Carlton Oaks Country Club and were penalized 44 stokes, dropping the Aztecs from a tie for fourth place to last place in the 18-team field.

For the first time in its history, the NCAA this year is requiring coaches and players to wear nonmetal spikes or spikeless shoes in all phases of the NCAA Division I golf championship -- including regionals and the NCAA Championships.

The regional coaches were informed of the new rule during a meeting Wednesday, but San Diego State's Neale Stoner said he failed to inform his players.

Senior Matt Murray and juniors Mike Samoles and Brad Weesner competed Thursday wearing metal spikes and did not realize they were in violation until they were well into their first nine holes of play. The United States Golf Association rules stipulate a two-shot penalty for each hole played where a violation occurs.

As a result, Murray was assessed a 12-shot penalty, Weesner 14 shots and Samoles 18 shots. A visibly upset Stoner accepted blame for the violations.

"I heard it in the meeting but I did not tell (my players)," Stoner said of the NCAA's spikeless rule. "I've got a team that is very upset and I don't blame them -- it's my fault.

"I feel horrible that these young men have to suffer for my mistake. They worked so hard to get in (the regional) ... what should have been a fun day was not."

It also wasn't very fun for coaches, players, officials and media who were clamoring for first-round results: the team and individual scores from Thursday's opening round were delayed nearly six hours while the USGA, the NCAA and West Regional officials attempted to figure out exactly what penalty should be assessed.

While the USGA is clear in its penalties for such a violation, the NCAA Golf Championship handbook does not spell out a penalty for a player wearing metal spikes in a spikeless tournament.

"We contacted the USGA and the members of the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee and determined this was the only possible interpretation of the USGA Rules of Golf," said Bob Livingstone, an NCAA Committee member who was at the West Regional.

* EYEING A REPEAT: The University of Southern California is out to prove its runaway victory in the Aldila Collegiate Classic in March at Carlton Oaks was no fluke. The Trojans shot an 8-under-par 280 in the opening round and cruised to an eight-stroke victory over Arizona earlier this year. In Thursday's opening round of the NCAA West Regional, USC shot a blistering 10-under-par 278 and held a four-shot lead over Arizona State and UCLA going into today's second round. USC, which has four victories this season and is seeded third in the regional, was led by senior Chad Wright's opening-round 68, which put him in a three-way tie for the individual lead. Wright also won the individual title in the Aldila tournament, beating Arizona's Rory Sabbatini on the third hole of a playoff.

* AN UPSET BRUIN?: Perhaps the most stunning team performance of the afternoon was turned in by UCLA. The 17th-seeded Bruins shot 6-under-par 282 and were tied for second, four shots behind arch-rival USC, after 18 holes. Even more surprising was that Bruins sophomore Ben Bost, the team's No. 5 player who has not had a top-10 finish in eight tournaments this season, shot a 3-under-par 69 for UCLA's low individual score.

* NO 'THREE'-PEAT: When UNLV played in the Aldila Collegiate Classic in March at Carlton Oaks, it was a pair of par 3s that spelled the Rebels' doom. In the first two rounds of the tournament, UNLV was a combined 18 over par on the 190-yard seventh hole and the 168-yard 12th hole. The Rebels apparently learned from their mistakes as they played the two holes in 5 over par Thursday. "We did a little better on those holes," head coach Dwaine Knight said. "They're tricky -- club selection is really crucial on those holes -- but we did a better job today."

* TAKING THEIR WACS: The Western Athletic Conference, which sent eight teams to the West Regionals and four to the Central Regional, fared well in Thursday's opening round at Carlton Oaks. Four WAC teams -- New Mexico, Colorado State, UNLV and Fresno State -- were in the top 10 following the first round.