LOOKING IN ON: GOLF

Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2006 | 7:47 a.m.

The UNLV men's golf team is more than two weeks away from opening its fall season, but the program already scored its first big victory.

Rebels head coach Dwaine Knight scored a recruiting boost over the weekend as several of his former players made headlines and received serious television time during the PGA Championship.

Two former Rebels, Adam Scott and Ryan Moore, finished in the top 10 of the season's final major. Two other UNLV products - Chris Riley and Chad Campbell - made news on the first and last days of the tournament; Riley held a share of the first-round lead and Campbell's 66 was the low round Sunday.

"You can't get any better than that: two Rebels in the top 10," Knight said. "Those kinds of things are huge for exposure for the program and in creating new interest in recruits and then for all the people who are Rebels golf fans.

"It's really great that they represent the university and the state so well. You just can't buy that kind of (exposure)."

And thanks to modern technology, the feedback Knight sometimes receives from potential recruits can be immediate.

"I'll get (text messages) from people we're recruiting, and they'll say, 'I saw Chad do this' and 'I saw Adam do that' and 'I saw Riley playing with Tiger.'

"There was a lot of coverage there, and all of those things are just really good for our program."

Scott, who played one year at UNLV (1998-99) before turning pro, tied for third Sunday, while Moore, who graduated last year after a sensational four-year collegiate career, tied for ninth. Campbell (1994-96) moved into a tie for 24th with his strong closing round and Riley (1992-96) tied for 41st.

Knight, who begins his 20th season at UNLV this fall, said he followed the PGA Championship closer than he does most tournaments because he had been coaching Campbell via the telephone prior to the weekend.

"We talked a little bit, before he went up there, on the phone (because) he was having a little trouble with his right-to-left putts," Knight said. "I kind of looked for a few things that we talked about in his stroke and in his setup.

"I texted him right away after he finished, and he texted me right back and said, 'Yeah, it was great to make a few putts.' "

Knight's interest in the tournament extended beyond just watching his former players. Tiger Woods, who cruised to a five-shot lead and earned his 12th career major championship, was recruited by Knight out of high school and eventually chose Stanford instead of UNLV.

Knight's consolation prize in the Tiger Woods recruiting battle turned out to be Campbell, who accepted the scholarship Knight had been reserving for Woods.

"That's the way it worked out because I had to go right back into the recruiting wars, and I was trying to find the best player we could, and everybody was pretty much signed by that time - the night before signing," Knight said.

"We obviously ended up with a great player in Chad. We were fortunate because he was going to sign with Houston the next day, and we were scrambling just to see if he would come here for a visit."

Campbell, who is in his fifth full season on the PGA Tour, will be a member of the U.S. team in next month's Ryder Cup.

Ryan Moore's ranking on the PGA Tour money list ($694,508)

Chad Campbell's ranking on the PGA Tour money list ($2,477,607)

Adam Scott's ranking on the PGA Tour money list ($3,065,783)