Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Rebel golf coach optimistic about chances in NCAAs

Tuesday, May 12, 1998 | 9:36 a.m.

BRIAN HILDERBRAND is a Las Vegas SUN sportswriter. His golf column appears Tuesdays. He can be reached on the Internet at bh@lasvegassun.com

UNLV is making its 10th straight appearance in the NCAA West Regional and the Rebels have never finished lower than fifth place or failed to advance to the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships.

Nevertheless, head coach Dwaine Knight is leaving nothing to chance as his team heads to the ASU/Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz., for the 54-hole tournament, which begins Thursday.

"All we have talked about (the last two weeks) is staying with our strategy and staying with it all the way through," Knight said of tackling the 7,037-yard course. "We really want to finish off our strategy completely from 1 to 18 and not change it up at all."

Knight hopes his team learned a lesson from the Western Athletic Conference Championships last month, when the Rebels went away from their strategy and allowed Texas Christian to run away with the tournament championship.

"I feel like we pressed a little bit at the end and I really feel we could have won the tournament had we stayed with our strategy all the way through," Knight said.

The key holes in this week's regional will be Nos. 9 and 18 -- both par-4s -- and the par-3 16th hole.

"Those are holes you can't attack, you just have to play them very smart, put the ball in the right places and take what the hole gives you," Knight said. "If you make par on (them) ... if we give ourselves those kinds of high-percentages, we'll capitalize on those holes and let the other people make the mistakes. If we do that, I think we'll be right in the golf tournament."

UNLV enters the West Regional as the top-seeded team and the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. The top nine teams out of the West Regional will advance to the NCAA Finals, to be played May 27-30 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Among the teams expected to challenge the Rebels for the team title this week include fourth-ranked Arizona, 13th-ranked Arizona State and 20th-ranked UCLA. UNLV has a 48-8 record against the other 17 teams in the regional and are a combined 13-4 against the Wildcats, Sun Devils and Bruins.

"We've seen everybody throughout the year and we're playing well so we're looking forward to it," Knight said. "It will be a good test down there. There are a lot of teams playing well so it will take a good effort to be competitive down there. But I think we're ready for that."

In order to have his players' full concentration on golf this week, Knight had his student-athletes take their final exams last week.

"My biggest concern is that we're a little rusty because we haven't played competitively since the WAC and with finals (last week), we didn't have as much time to practice," he said. "But by leaving (Monday afternoon), we'll be able to get on the golf course (Tuesday).

"If we can get off to a good start and be competitive ... I feel like, as the tournament goes along, we'll get a little bit stronger each day and that's what we have tended to do all year long."

UNLV will stay with the same five golfers who played in the past three tournaments: senior Bill Lunde, juniors Chris Berry and Charley Hoffman, sophomore Jeremy Anderson and freshman Scott Lander. The quintet has played together seven times this season and compiled three wins, two seconds and two third-places finishes.

* AROUND THE GREEN: Golf For Women magazine named Angel Park Golf Club as one of the top 100 women-friendly golf courses in the nation. The survey of the magazine's readers and a panel of golf industry experts rated courses on criteria such as membership privileges, tee-time access, clubhouse policies and women's programs. Angel Park was the only Nevada course to be ranked by the magazine. ... Golf Magazine announced its annual Top 100 Courses You Can Play in its May issue. The Lakes Course at Primm Valley Golf Club was the only course in Southern Nevada to make the list and was ranked 43rd in the nation. Edgewood Tahoe in Northern Nevada also made the cut and was ranked 69th. ... Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada will hold a tournament on June 28 at Highland Falls Golf Club to raise money for its Meals on Wheels program. The entry fee is $125 per person. Additional information can be obtained by calling 385-5284.

* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour moves to Irving, Texas, this week for the GTE Byron Nelson Classic at the TPC at Las Colinas and Cottonwood Valley Country Club. Last week's winner, Tiger Woods, is the defending champion; the USA Network and ABC will televise. ... The Senior PGA Tour is in Belton, Mo., for the Saint Luke's Classic at Loch Lloyd Country Club. Bruce Summerhays won last year's tournament; ESPN will televise. ... The LPGA Tour will stage the 43rd LPGA Championship at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Del. Chris Johnson is the defending champion; CBS will televise.