Columnist Dean Juipe: Ex-Rebels golfers making history

Dean Juipe

Friday, April 2, 2004 | 9:44 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Sixteen years after coming to Las Vegas with the stated goal of turning the UNLV men's golf program into a national powerhouse, Dwaine Knight can look back and know he has adhered to the script.

Not only are his Rebels perennial contenders for the NCAA championship, Knight and UNLV made history this week.

When ex-Rebel Adam Scott won last Sunday's PGA tour event, The Players Championship, it apparently marked the first time ever that consecutive events on the tour had been won by two different individuals from the same school.

Chad Campbell, another ex-Rebel, had won the previous week's event, the Bay Hill Invitational.

"Golf Digest just sent me an e-mail about that this morning," Knight said Thursday in his campus office. "They keep what they call the Alumni Tracking Poll and they said they had never heard of players from the same school winning consecutive weeks on tour.

"It's quite an interesting thing and a nice honor."

Scott and Skip Kendall are ex-Rebels entered in this week's tour stop, the BellSouth Classic in Duluth, Ga., as UNLV alums go for a further unprecedented three victories in a row.

Kendall almost won a tour event earlier this season, losing a playoff to John Daly in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

And another ex-Rebel, Chris Riley, lost a playoff to Phil Mickelson in the Buick Invitational.

Scott is currently No. 3 on the tour money list, Campbell is No. 9 and Riley is No. 26.

As a group, the UNLV golf alumni have made the school the No. 1 ranked program in terms of money won on the PGA tour this year. UNLV finished No. 2 in that same category last year.

"It's been tremendous," Knight said of his players doing so well as professionals. "I've really enjoyed the opportunity to be around all of these young men, and I really appreciate that they had the faith to come here.

"It's fun to follow them and know that they are part of the hope and promise of the program. They're doing what we hoped they would, which is carry on as professionals and represent Las Vegas and UNLV.

"But it isn't only the golfers with the most visibility, it's the others who have gone into business and succeeded, too."

Yet the number of ex-Rebels playing professional golf is almost startling and it includes several beyond Scott, Campbell, Riley and Kendall. At least 10 other UNLV alums are toiling on various pro circuits, including Charley Hoffman, Michael Kirk, Bill Lunde, Jeremy Anderson, Edward Fryatt, Ted Oh, Brien Davis, Brandon Askew, Scott Lander and Warren Schutte.

Hoffman finished third in last week's Nationwide tour event in Louisiana, and Kirk won Sunday's European Challenge tour event in Germany.

"There've been a lot of good things happening," Knight commented. "There've been Rebels across the board."

Actually, there is one more: Ryan Moore. He's the standout player on the current UNLV team who took medalist honors Tuesday in the National Invitation Tournament in Tucson. It was Moore's first victory this season and second of his career, leading Knight to believe he is the next Rebel who will excel at the professional level.

"I really think so," Knight said, when asked if he expected Moore to play alongside the likes of Scott, Campbell and Riley on the big tour. "He reminds me a lot of those guys."

The Rebels as a team are currently ranked No. 11 in the country, mixing good results with a couple of lesser ones as they build toward May's championship tournament in Virginia.

"I think Ryan's victory will give us the spark we need," Knight said of his team's outlook as it nears the stretch run of the season, including an April 9-10 event in Tempe.

The Rebels were the national champions in 1998, but with their polished and poised alumni playing splendidly it's as if that championship reign has been extended.

"This is just what we wanted," Knight said, thinking back to his introduction as UNLV's head coach in 1988. "What we hoped would happen is actually what is happening."