Columnist Victoria Sun: Wish comes true for Leadbetter

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2002 | 8:38 a.m.

Victoria Sun is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. She can be reached at victoria@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4078.

UNLV beat Oklahoma State and Texas in the Andy Leadbetter Sweepstakes.

Leadbetter, an 18-year-old who will be a senior at the Crenshaw Academy in Orlando, Fla., verbally committed to attend UNLV next season.

He chose UNLV partly because he enjoyed his trips to Las Vegas to visit relatives. He also has played Las Vegas' American Junior Golf Association summer tournament and liked what he saw.

"I have always wanted to go to UNLV since I was little," Leadbetter said. "Out of all the schools, I felt more comfortable there.

"The team has great practice facilities, there are so many great golf courses there. I think it's a good place for me to mature and improve my game. I haven't peaked yet."

Most recently, Leadbetter competed in the U.S. Amateur along with current Rebel Ryan Moore.

This summer, he teamed with Ryan Blaum to win the Justin Leonard/Deloitte & Touche Junior Team Championships and finished seventh in the Henry-Griffitts Rome Junior Classic.

As the son of famous instructor David Leadbetter, Andy picked up golf as a toddler.

"It wasn't forced upon me, I just liked it," he said. "Golf is in the family, but I wanted to do it. I don't want to be a teacher, I want to be a player."

A better player.

In the last year, he has grown from 5-foot-9 to 6-foot-2, making it difficult to maintain the same swing.

"I definitely need to be more consistent," Leadbetter said. "That's what I need to improve."

Leadbetter wanted to commit early so he could concentrate on his game during his final year of high school.

"I'm glad it's done with," he said. "Now I don't have to worry about it any more. I can just play."

Once he arrives at UNLV, that's exactly what he plans to do.