Callaway Golf Las Vegas Intercollegiate: Rebels’ Lander finishes in tie for eighth place

Victoria Sun

Monday, March 12, 2001 | 10:46 a.m.

A final round 68 fired by UNLV senior Scott Lander wasn't enough to salvage the Rebels' disastrous weekend of golf.

But it was enough to propel Lander to a four-way tie for eighth at the Callaway Golf Las Vegas Intercollegiate that concluded Sunday at the Rio Secco Golf Club.

Lander's tournament total 2-under-par 214 was 11 strokes behind medalist Jeff Quiney, the U.S. Amateur champion, of Arizona State.

"I just wanted to keep pushing out there," Lander said. "I didn't want to lay back and shoot a normal score.

"I wanted to shoot as low of a score as possible and maybe get into the top 10. Jon Mills (of Kent State) was in my group and playing very well so I was kind of gunning for him.

"I'm happy with my score. It's definitely a bright spot."

Lander's final round was one of the few positives for UNLV. Sophomore Calvin Kupeyan was the only other Rebel to shoot under par the final day. Kupeyan carded a 2-under-par 70.

Over the course of three days, the Rebels shot 28-over-par to finish 12th out of 15 teams. UNLV's only subpar round came on Sunday when the team total was 4-under 284.

Georgia Tech seemed to be the only team unbothered by the tough course conditions and entered the day at the top of the leaderboard with an eight-stroke lead over Clemson. The Yellowjackets continued their dominance on Sunday with a team total 15-under-par 273 for the easy win.

Georgia Tech was the only team in the entire field to shoot under par for the tournament. It finished 20 strokes under for a total of 844. Georgia was second at 4-over 868 followed by Clemson at 5-over 869.

"They've got experience and talent," Lander said. "They've got teammates to push each other to do better. We've got that also, but they're a step ahead of us because we've got a young team.

"I think we would have been in it if we played decent the first round."

The Rebels' opening round 28-over-par 316 made it almost impossible for a respectable finish.

Kupeyan, who birdied five and bogeyed three holes during the final round, suggested the team did not adapt well to the changes to the difficult course including the tees being moved up on certain holes.

"The first day for me was a big mental lapse," Kupeyan said. "The course we were used to playing on for practice was very, very different.

"It was a big shock. They moved the tees up and they slowed the greens down. I don't think we adapted very well. I think we learned that we have to adapt better to changes."

Lander was 1-under at the turn then made birdies on 11 (a 30-footer), 15 (a 15-footer) and 17 (from 12 inches).

On the 18th, a hole he bogeyed the previous day, Lander narrowly missed a short putt for birdie.

He thought UNLV could have played better over the weekend.

"We just didn't manage the course right," We kept hitting drivers when we shouldn't have.

"I hit three drivers total today and still shot the score that I did."