Rebels finish first round strong

Adam Candee

Friday, May 20, 2005 | 10:24 a.m.

Hang around Dwaine Knight long enough and talk of properly finishing a round is bound to come up.

Knight is a firm believer that the final three holes of any round are vital, sending his players off the course in a positive frame of mind and building momentum for the next day.

His players followed the credo Thursday in the first round of NCAA West Regional play, scorching the last three holes at Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif., to rise to third heading into this morning's second round. The Rebels shot a 1-over 281 to place three strokes behind early leader BYU.

Senior Ryan Moore shot a 1-under 69, good for a tie for fifth. Moore is well off the lead of BYU's Oscar Alvarez, who fired a 7-under 63 in his first round. Junior Andres Gonzales is tied for 12th at even-par, while junior Ryan Keeney and senior Travis Whisman both finished at 1-over to sit tied for 19th. Freshman Jarred Texter's 3-over 73, complicated by a 41 on the front side, was not counted.

As a team, the top-seeded Rebels rallied at Nos. 16, 17 and 18. They shot a combined 6-under on the final three holes to shoot up from seventh into third. Gonzales, Whisman and Texter all shaved two strokes in that stretch.

"I think it made a big difference, obviously," Knight said. "Part of our program is to emphasize the last three holes, to hang in there and try to make something happen."

The top 10 teams and two individuals not on qualifying squads in the 54-hole event advance to nationals, scheduled for June 1-4 at Caves Valley Golf Course in Owings Mills, Md.