LOOKING IN ON: GOLF

Wed, Sep 19, 2007 (7:13 a.m.)

Former UNLV golfers who have committed to play in next month's Frys.com Open PGA Tour event in Las Vegas (Chris Riley and Charley Hoffman).

Perhaps Dwaine Knight will want to reconsider having his team play in the annual collegiate tournament at the prestigious Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

Th at course , which has hosted four U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships, has exposed UNLV's weaknesses each of the past two seasons - a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed by the head coach of the Rebels men's golf team.

Last year, opening the season as the fifth-ranked team in the county, UNLV finished sixth out 15 teams at the Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational . Last week, the Rebels went to Toledo as the eighth-ranked team and finished 12th among 16 teams.

By having his team play tough courses such as Inverness, Knight hopes to better prepare his players for the test they will face in the NCAA championships in the spring.

Still, a 12th-place finish - even against a strong field on a tough course - is not how Knight envisioned opening the season. Not with his team returning eight lettermen from last year's squad.

"The last day, I think we had maybe the third-best score," Knight said of the Rebels, who saved their best round (9-over-par 293) for last. "We improved some, but not to where we want to be."

The Rebels' downfall last week was the same problem that plagued them last season, Knight said.

"If you get behind the eight ball a little bit and you press on a good golf course, it can really catch you if you're not on your game - and it did, it got us as far as just making mistakes," he said.

"You make a little bit of a mistake there and if you don't rectify it and get back in play, it just compounds itself."

The bright spot for the Rebels proved to be freshman Ji Moon, who tied for 20th place and was the Rebels' low individual at 8-over-par 221.

"It was a little bit of a surprise," Knight said of Moon's debut. "He played some good golf this summer in getting into the U.S. Amateur ... But to come in the first week with all the things that are going on just getting into school and to go on the first trip and then (be) our low player, I was very proud of him.

"That performance on that golf course shows he can play the very difficult tests."

The Rebels have another stiff test this weekend when they travel to West Lafayette, Ind., for the Preview at the Kampen Course at Purdue University - site of the 2008 NCAA Men's Golf Championships.

On the road

UNLV junior Seung-Su Han , the Rebels' second-leading scorer last season, missed the Rebels' season-opening tournament because he was playing as an amateur in a professional tournament in his native South Korea.

Han, who carried a 72.38 scoring average as a sophomore, also might miss this week's tournament.

"He was invited by his country to play , and it's the biggest tournament in their country," Knight said. "It's a great honor and a great opportunity for him to play and to play with the professionals."

Knight said he didn't mind Han missing the tournaments.

"It's a very honest check on where you are with your game," Knight said. "It's a positive in the long run, for sure."

Rebel women ranked

The UNLV's women's golf team, which will open its season next week, is one of three Mountain West Conference teams ranked in Golfweek magazine's preseason top 30 poll.

UNLV, which returns four letter winners from last year's team, is ranked 29th by the magazine. Fellow Mountain West Conference schools New Mexico (17th) and BYU (22nd) also are ranked.

The Rebels open the season Monday in the NCAA Fall Preview in Albuquerque .

UNLV golfers who played in the U.S. Amateur Championship last month at the Olympic Club in San Francisco (Jarred Texter, Eddie Olson and Ji Moon).

UNLV struggled again while playing at the Inverness Club, above, finishing below its national rank for the second straight year.

Coach Dwaine Knight said the team had the same problem as last year: Getting into trouble and then failing to fix its mistakes.

Freshman Ji Moon showed poise, finishing the tourney with the Rebels' lowest score at 8-over-par 221. "I was very proud of him," Knight said.