Rebels men will feel at home in golf regional

Adam Candee

Tuesday, May 11, 2004 | 9:15 a.m.

The seeding is not nearly as important as the course to UNLV men's golf coach Dwaine Knight.

The Rebels, who Monday received the No. 7 seed in the NCAA West regional, will play their qualifier on a course where they feel very comfortable. UNLV will be facing the same course where it played the Mountain West Conference tournament just last weekend when it begins three days of regional play May 20.

"We've had quite a bit of experience on that course the last few years," Knight said.

The Crosswater Course at Sunriver in Oregon has hosted the past four MWC tournaments.

For the Rebels, the No. 7 seed is lower than normal, although Knight has taken teams to regionals seeded as low as No. 9. UNLV is ranked No. 15 in the country by Golfweek and is making is 16th consecutive regional appearance.

The top 10 teams and two individuals from nonqualifying teams will earn berths in the NCAA championships, set for June 1-4 in Hot Springs, Va. The Rebels have only failed to qualify for nationals once when reaching the regional round.

Having a bit of familiarity with the course is essential for a Rebels squad that has struggled to find consistency throughout the season.

"With this year's team, the more experience you have in a place, the better for us," Knight said. "What you try to do with a team like this is to create confidence in situations as much as you can."

Knight will stick with the same five players from the MWC tournament, where UNLV finished third behind fellow West Regional qualifiers Brigham Young (No. 5) and New Mexico (No. 9). Conference tournament champion Ryan Moore heads the group, which also includes Travis Whisman, Ryan Keeney, Sam Hunt and Andres Gonzales.