Anderson shines for Rebels

Victoria Sun

Friday, June 2, 2000 | 10:07 a.m.

OPELIKA, Ala. -- UNLV's Jeremy Anderson was showered with cheers after he turned in a 4-under-par 68 in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Men's Golf Championships Thursday afternoon. But he couldn't forget the one hole that got away.

After 16 holes, Anderson was 6-under for the day. Then came the pesky par-3 213-yard eighth hole that he was sure he could conquer.

For only the second time that day, he was wrong.

"I shanked it," Anderson said while shaking his head in disgust to a friend who stopped to chat about his round.

When asked, Anderson gave a more thorough explanation of the miscue that was the difference between a 66 and a 68.

"It was 198 to the hole, I felt so confident," he recounted. "I hit a perfectly hard 6-iron.

"I hit it, moved ahead of the ball, left the club face open then it disappeared into the weeds. Hit a good third shot, left 10 feet for bogey, then just barely missed.

"I'm disappointed to say the least."

The rest of his round wasn't disappointing at all.

Except for an opening bogey on the par-4 434-yard 10th hole where Anderson three-putted, he played great.

The day really turned around when he sank a 10-foot putt on No. 13 to save par after his drive landed on the face of the bunker. He "hacked a lob wedge" to get out of it, setting up his third shot from about 105 yards.

"That was a huge save for me," Anderson said. "I didn't want to be 2-over so early.

"It seems like when one putt goes in, they all go in."

Anderson had three consecutive birdies before the turn, then turned in four more on the third, fourth, sixth and seventh holes.

"I was solid all day until No. 8," he said. "I just hit a bad shot."

According to the National Weather Service Bureau in Birmingham, Ala., it was 75 degrees with 66 percent humidity at 9 a.m., about an hour after both players teed off. By noon, the temperature jumped to 82 degrees, though the humidity dropped to 42 percent, and at 1 p.m. it was 85 degrees with 40 percent humidity.

"I have a headache," said Kupeyan, who bogeyed four of his last nine holes. "I did all right on the first nine, then it just kind of slipped away.

"I think the heat bothered me. My head started to hurt and I lost my concentration."

The forecast for today was for a high of 95 degrees with humidity at 95 to 100 percent in the morning dropping off to 35 percent in the late afternoon.

"I guess we're just glad we have a chance," said Georgia's Nick Cassini.