Former Rebel Moore makes coach Knight proud

Saturday, Oct. 29, 2005 | 9:42 a.m.

UNLV men's golf coach Dwaine Knight was thrilled to learn that former star pupil Ryan Moore had secured his PGA Tour card for the 2006 season with his 14th-place finish last weekend in the Funai Classic.

Even if Moore had failed to earn a dime on the PGA Tour this season, Knight couldn't possibly be any more proud of Moore, who has earned more than $686,000 in 10 tournaments since turning pro. In doing so, Moore became only the fifth player since 1980 to go directly from college to the PGA Tour without having to take part in the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.

"It's just a tremendous achievement," Knight said. "But what's even more remarkable is that he stayed in school and finished his commitment here and didn't jump at the money. Now he's probably the most heralded player at this stage of his career since Tiger (Woods).

"That's kind of nice for him because I think it's a statement that if you do the right thing, good things are still going to happen. He certainly could have taken the money and ran a year ago, but it has just worked out even better the way he's done it."

And Knight predicts even greater things for Moore, who already has four top-20 finishes since turning pro after the Masters (in which he was the low amateur), including a tie for second place at the Bell Canadian Open in August.

"I think he's got a great future," Knight said. "He'll get comfortable at a certain level and then he just takes off -- it's been like that all through his whole career in golf ... and it was the same sort of thing in these 10 tournaments; he started slow and then all of a sudden Canada was a huge check and -- boom -- he just took off.

"I expect to see the same thing out there (on tour) next year. His goal always has been to win these tournaments but I know now he really believes he can."

RIDING THE STORM OUT

Knight got closer to a hurricane than he'd care Monday when Wilma tore through southern Florida while Knight and the Rebels were playing in the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate Invitational in Windermere, in the central part of the state.

Although the brunt of Wilma was felt about 200 miles to the south, tournament officials altered the schedule to play two rounds on Sunday and gave the teams Monday off to "hunker down in the hotel," according to Knight.

"We were in central Florida when it hit, but we were right in the path of the winds and the rain because the storm was so big," Knight said. "It was quite an experience. It hit about 3 (in the morning), but the rain on both sides of the storm was pretty severe."

But not severe enough to give Knight an excuse for his team's poor play. The Rebels shot a final-round 30 over par on Tuesday and finished 15th in the 18-team field.

"It was a very, very difficult golf course and the winds and the cold made it more difficult," Knight said, "but we should have been able to handle it. I expected us to play well and to compete. We didn't do it this week, so we were disappointed in our performance."

ALSO NOTED:

* Jean Van de Velde, best known for his meltdown on the 72nd hole of the 1999 British Open, said he would attempt to enter next year's women's British Open to protest Royal and Ancient Golf Club's decision to allow women to qualify for the 2006 British Open.

* UNLV's 11th-ranked women's golf team will close its fall season Monday and Tuesday by hosting the Las Vegas Founders Women's Collegiate Showdown at Anthem Country Club in Henderson.