Friday, Oct. 31, 2003 | 10:16 a.m.
Creative is a word more often heard in an art school or photo studio than on a golf course.
Yet more creative is what UNLV women's golf coach Missy Ringler hopes standout sophomore Sunny Oh can become with her game as the Rebels approach the midway point in their year.
"If she could become a better putter, improve her up-and-down percentage, she'd be pretty much unbeatable," Ringler said.
A similar assessment of very good, but with plenty of room to improve defines the UNLV team so far this season. The Rebels were ranked No. 20 in the preseason and now sit at No. 25 with only their home tournament remaining in the fall season. UNLV hosts the Las Vegas Founders' Women's Collegiate Showdown from Nov. 10-12 at Anthem Country Club.
The Rebels opened their season with a win at the Northwest Invite in Oregon, and Ringler hopes her team can show similar aptitude in defending its home course. The team win, coming on the heels of Oh's victory last year at the NCAA West regional tournament, set a high bar for the third-year program.
"I still think we haven't reached our full potential yet as a team," Ringler said.
That applies even to Oh, who leads the team in stroke average at 74.67 and owns third and sixth place finishes from the team's first two tournaments.
Oh has struggled by her standards in the past two events, though, finishing 17th and 31st. For a team struggling to get consistent scoring beyond Oh and freshman Seema Sadekar, slippage from its star cannot be endured.
Ringler and assistant Eric Toomey are working with Oh on trying some new shots and approaches in her short game to shake her from her slide.
"(Sunny's) not playing as well as both of us would have hoped. She's struggling a little bit," Ringler said.
The same can be said for the Rebels after their last tournament. Junior Hwanhee Lee's 26th-place finish was tops on the team in a disappointing ninth-place finish at the Mercedes-Benz Women's Championship in Knoxville, Tenn.
Ringler feels the key to climbing back up the national rankings is coaxing more consistent play from the back end the UNLV lineup.
"Our weakest point has been our third or fourth scorer," Ringler said. "Once that (improves), the sky's the limit for this team."
UNLV opens its spring schedule Feb. 23-25 at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
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