NCAA golf notebook: Defending champ remains confident

Thursday, June 3, 1999 | 10:26 a.m.

CHASKA, Minn. -- UNLV freshman Adam Scott must have been breathing a little bit easier following the opening round of the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships.

Scott accidentally broke defending NCAA champion James McLean's favorite driver following a practice round on Monday at Hazeltine National Golf Club, and the Minnesota sophomore spent the next two days scrambling to find a replacement.

When a representative from Callaway couldn't get a driver to McLean in time for Wednesday's opening round, Minnesota head coach John Means bought a similar driver from a friend and loaned it to McLean.

The results were not impressive to start as McLean hooked his first few drives en route to a front-nine 4-over-par 40. But McLean quickly realized the new driver was not to blame.

"It was a combination of a new driver, I didn't have the feel for it, and then being nervous at the same time," McLean said. "I put a few bad swings on it, a few tentative swings, and I was in trouble early."

But Means noticed that McLean also came over the top on a 7-iron on the fourth hole and also hooked that shot. McLean made an adjustment in his swing and didn't have a problem with his driver for the rest of the round.

"On the back side, I hit the driver long and straight," said McLean, who shot an even-par 36 on the back nine. "That made it a lot easier. The back side, I was able to put (playing with a new driver) out of my mind and I was putting my normal swing on the ball."

McLean's opening-round 76 left him eight shots off the lead going into today's second round, but the Australian native wasn't writing off the possibility of defending his NCAA individual title.

"I'll give it a go (today) and see what happens," McLean said. "There's still three days left -- there's plenty of time. I could go out and shoot a 66 (today) and that could put me right back into it."

* HOME COOKING? Although the University of Minnesota is the host school for the NCAA Championships, that hasn't meant a home-course advantage for the Golden Gophers.

Minnesota struggled to an opening-round 303 (15 over par) and was tied for 16th place going into today's second round. Hazeltine National Golf Club is located about 20 minutes from the UM campus and is one of the courses the Golden Gophers regularly play.

Golden Gophers sophomore James McLean, the defending NCAA individual champion, said playing at home in the NCAA finals is a daunting task.

"The guys are under a lot of pressure," McLean said. "We're on our home track and we're expected to do well. That's a fairly unique position for a lot of these guys so it's understandable that we (struggled).

"I think (today), the guys will have the nerves out of their systems and they'll go out there and play their normal game. If they do that, I'm sure we can make up a lot more shots on the field."

Only the top 15 teams following today's second round will make the cut to the final two rounds.

* ONE TOUGH HOLE: UNLV wasn't the only team to have difficulty with the 290-yard par-4 16th hole Wednesday.

The five Rebel players were a combined 9 over par on the hole, which proved to be the hardest hole in the opening round. The average score on the hole was 4.78 -- nearly a stroke over par.

There were only eight birdies recorded on No. 16 Wednesday while 69 players made par, 44 made bogey, 26 carded double-bogey and nine players made triple-bogey or worse.

"That's one of the hardest holes I've ever seen," UNLV head coach Dwaine Knight, who played five years on the PGA Tour, said of the 16th. The hole is protected by a lake on the right and a creek that runs the length of the hole on the left and requires pin-point accuracy both off the tee and on the approach shot to green.

* VIVA LAS VEGAS: Former Bonanza High School standouts Billy Harvey (BYU) and Scott Piercy (San Diego State) stood tied for 48th place and 95th place, respectively, going into today's second round of the NCAA finals.

Harvey, a sophomore for the Cougars, shot an opening-round 3-over-par 75 and trailed first-round leader Chris Wisler of East Tennessee State by seven shots.

Piercy, a sophomore for the Aztecs, struggled to a 6-over 78 and was 10 shots off the pace heading into today's round.

* MILLER TIME: Scott Miller, a sophomore at BYU and one of three of Hall of Famer Johnny Miller's sons playing collegiate golf, shot an even-par 72 Wednesday and was tied for 13th place in the individual standings.

Another of Miller's sons, junior Andy Miller, opened with a 73 Wednesday and was tied for 22nd, five shots off the lead.

The younger Millers are trying to accomplish something their father never did during his four-year career at BYU: win a national championship.