Rebels make statement as a team

Adam Candee

Monday, March 14, 2005 | 9:57 a.m.

Yeah, they can be this good.

Supporting senior standout Ryan Moore with its finest effort of the year, the UNLV men's golf team crushed the field Sunday at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship to finish at 9-under and earn a 15-stroke victory against some of the toughest competition in the country. Georgia finished a distant second at 6-over.

UCLA's Daniel Im defeated South Carolina's Mark Anderson to win the individual title after both players finished at 7-under.

Ranked 18th in the nation coming into their perennially difficult home tournament, the Rebels proved that they can be dangerous in the postseason, especially if all five players are shooting low rounds. UNLV was the only team to break par in difficult scoring conditions at Southern Highlands that could rival what the Rebels may see at nationals.

"The course played so hard," UNLV coach Dwaine Knight said. "That's huge for us to be able to handle a difficult course, especially with all those good teams there."

While Moore put together his usual stellar effort to finish in third place at 5-under, the rest of the Rebels backed him up, playing seven of their 12 combined rounds at even-par or better. The team closed with a score of 8-under 280, the lowest team score in a single round during the weekend.

Senior Travis Whisman made the strongest impression Sunday by firing an 8-under round of 64 to pace the team, solidifying his anticipated status as the No. 2 player behind Moore. Whisman recorded six birdies and eagled the par-4 fifth hole, moving up 31 spots Sunday to finish in fourth place at 4-under.

"We've all envisioned his ability to shoot this kind of round," Knight said of Whisman. "He's been through a lot and we're obviously proud of him. It should boost his confidence."

Moore's 5-under round of 67 on Saturday allowed UNLV to move up from sixth place into the lead coming into the final round. He took aim at the individual crown late Sunday, but could not win for the second time in as many starts this spring.