Thursday, March 12, 1998 | 12:02 p.m.
The NCAA Division I Golf Championships don't begin for another two months. But for all intents and purposes, the UNLV golf team's quest for its first national championship begins Friday.
The Rebels, ranked No. 1 in the nation in all three major polls, host 14 of the country's top golf teams in the Golf Digest Collegiate Invitational, which runs through Sunday at the Desert Inn Golf Club.
"I think this tournament is going to be a good experience for us because what's going to happen here is going to be a lot like what's going to happen at nationals," UNLV senior Bill Lunde said. "I think it's going to be a lot like nationals because when you got to nationals, there's a lot more attention, a lot more pressure.
"I think this week will be a great opportunity to understand how to deal with the situations ... this tournament will be a good learning experience."
One thing Lunde already has learned is that the Rebels are good. Real good. UNLV has won a school-record five of its eights starts this season, including each of its past three tournaments, and has finished out of the top 10 only once.
Not bad for a team that lost three of its top players from last year's group, which also was ranked No. 1 in the nation and advanced to the NCAA finals for the ninth consecutive year.
Although Lunde predicted last fall that the Rebels wouldn't drop off as much as everybody had thought, even he has been caught off guard by his team's success this season.
"The more I think about it, the more it surprises me," Lunde said. "But we have so much depth on our team, we've had some guys who haven't played and now that they're getting a chance to play and they're proving that they're just as good as the guys we (lost)."
Lunde, who is second to sophomore Jeremy Anderson among the Rebels with a 71.70 scoring average, has stepped his game up a notch this spring after what he calls a disappointing fall season.
After averaging 73.09 during the fall with only one top-10 finish, he is averaging an even 70 in three spring tournaments with a pair of top-10 showings. His final-round 65 in the Rebels' most recent tournament tied for the fourth-lowest round in the program's history.
"It has really been a lot better in the spring," Lunde said of his game.
Lunde said he likes the Rebels' chances this week, despite competition from a field that includes 10 of the top 25 teams in the country, including defending national champion Pepperdine, No. 6 Oklahoma State and traditional power Arizona State.
"I think we have an advantage in that we know the course really well," Lunde said of the 7,013-yard Desert Inn, where the Rebels regularly play practice and qualifying rounds. "These greens have a lot of subtle break in them and a lot of people who come in here and first play it, they don't expect that and they easily get frustrated.
"There is going to be a little pressure because we're number one now and the community support is so incredible that there will be a lot of people out here watching us, expecting us to win. But we're really looking forward to it."
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