Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Rebels to compete on live TV

Wednesday, March 31, 1999 | 9:27 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand's golf notebook appears Wednesday. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

The defending national champion UNLV golf team will make its lone live television appearance this season when it competes in the Compaq U.S. Collegiate Golf Championship this weekend in Lecanto, Fla.

The Rebels will be among 12 teams -- eight of which are nationally ranked -- participating in the 54-hole tournament at Black Diamond Ranch's world-renowned Quarry Course. The final two rounds will be televised live by ESPN.

Saturday's second round will be shown from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. PST and Sunday's final round will air from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

UNLV, ranked second in the nation in the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings, will be joined in the field by fifth-ranked Oklahoma State, No. 8 Arizona State, No. 15 Minnesota, No. 20 Oklahoma, No. 26 New Mexico, No. 32 Southern California and No. 35 Texas Christian. Unranked Arizona, Florida State, Kent and Ohio State round out the field.

The Quarry Course at Black Diamond Ranch, which was designed by Tom Fazio, is one of the most prestigious courses in Florida. It has consistently been ranked among the top 100 courses in the world and three of its holes are listed in Golf Digest's "America's 99 Greatest Golf Holes" in its March edition.

The Rebels have won three tournaments this season, including the Golf Digest Collegiate Invitational earlier this month at the Desert Inn Golf Club, and have finished in the top three in six straight tournaments.

Seniors Chris Berry and Charley Hoffman, juniors Jeremy Anderson and Michael Kirk and sophomore Scott Lander will represent UNLV in this weekend's tournament.

While the U.S. Collegiate Golf Championship will mark the Rebels' lone live television appearance of the season, it will not be their only national TV appearance. Highlights of the Rebels' win at home in the Golf Digest tournament will be shown as part of a one-hour show on ESPN on May 13 at 11 a.m. PDT.

* ROBINSON TOURNAMENT: Two more high-profile former college football coaches have committed to play in the inaugural John Robinson Celebrity Invitational golf tournament.

Former Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler and former UCLA head man Terry Donahue join an impressive list of sports celebrities who will participate in the tournament, scheduled April 29-May 1 at Del Webb's Anthem in Henderson.

Also playing will be current head coaches Norv Turner (Washington Redskins), R.C. Slocum (Texas A&M) and Bruce Snyder (Arizona State).

Former Oakland Raiders head coach John Madden, Marcus Allen, Ronnie Lott, Hugh McElhenny, Keyshawn Johnson, Keenan McCardell, Ickey Woods and Kenny Mayne already have announced their intentions to help out Robinson in his first fund-raising golf tournament.

Spots still are available for the two-day, 36-hole tournament. The entry fee is $5,000 per foursome, with proceeds directly benefiting the UNLV football program.

Call Jim Bolla at 895-1508 for tournament information.

* CHIP SHOTS: The PGA Tour has banned cellular telephones and cameras from all tour events. The tour is setting up a claim check near the gates of its tournaments where fans can leave the items until they leave the course. The policy was instituted because of players' complaints about being distracted by ringing phones and flashing cameras during play. ...

Jack Nicklaus will discuss his recent hip replacement surgery on The Golf Channel's "Golf Talk Live" next Monday from 5-6 p.m. Nicklaus will take calls from viewers during the one-hour show, which will be hosted by Peter Kessler.

* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour is in Duluth, Ga., this week for the $2.5 million Bell South Classic at the Tournament Players Club at Sugarloaf. Tiger Woods is the defending champion; the USA cable network (Thursday and Friday) and NBC (Saturday and Sunday) will televise. ...

The Senior PGA Tour is in Scottsdale, Ariz., for The Tradition at the Golf Club at Desert Mountain. Gil Morgan won last year's tournament; ESPN (Thursday and Friday) and ABC (Saturday and Sunday) will televise. ...

The LPGA Tour will stage the Longs Drugs Challenge this weekend at Twelve Bridges Golf Club in Lincoln, Calif. Donna Andrews is the defending champion; there will be no live television coverage.