May 26, 1999
UP NEXT: UNLV, the defending NCAA champion, travels to Chaska, Minn., for its 11th straight appearance at the 30-team NCAA Championships, which will be held at the par-72, 7,196-yard Hazeltine National Golf Club, Wednesday, June 2 through Saturday, June 5.
THE FORMAT: The 30 teams and six individuals competing in the 72-hole (four rounds) tournament will play 18 holes per day over a four-day span. Each team will have five players and count the low four individual scores from each 18-hole round. The field will be cut to the top 15 teams following the second round. In addition, the top nine individuals not on the top 15 teams will continue play. UNLV, which has been awarded the No. 1 seed for the third consecutive year, will play with No. 2-seeded Georgia and No. 3-seeded Georgia Tech for the first two rounds. The second two rounds will be re-seeded. The Rebels are scheduled to go off from the first tee at 11:50 a.m. (All times CDT) for Monday's practice round and start off the 10th tee at 8:20 a.m. for Tuesday's practice round. UNLV is then set for a 12:27 p.m. start off No. 10 for Wednesday's first round and a 7:30 a.m. start off No. 1 for Thursday's second round. Complete tournament tee times may be found on the internet at www.gophersports.com.
RANKED FIELD: Among the 30 teams participating, 26 are ranked in the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings (top 50) as of May 26.
UNLV'S LINEUP: Competing for the Rebels will be seniors Chris Berry and Charley Hoffman, juniors Jeremy Anderson and Michael Kirk, and freshman Adam Scott.
UNLV GETS TOP SEED: This year marks the third year in a row that UNLV has received the top seed at the NCAA Championships.
DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: UNLV won its first-ever NCAA championship in 1998. The tournament recap follows:
May 30, 1998
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - It was a lucky seventh for the UNLV golf team.
The top-ranked UNLV Rebels, under head coach Dwaine Knight, withstood a final-round rally from Clemson and won their first-ever NCAA men's golf title by three shots at the University of New Mexico's Championship Golf Course (par 72, 2,748 yards) Saturday.
It marks only the second team national championship for UNLV in any sport as the men's basketball team won in 1990.
The Rebels, who won their record-breaking seventh tournament of the season, shot a final-round one-over-par 289 and finished the tournament at 34-under-par 1,118, setting the record for the lowest total in NCAA Championships history. The old mark was 23-under par, which was set by Arizona in 1992 and repeated by Stanford in 1994.
UNLV also broke the NCAA Championships record for lowest score after the second-round. The Rebels were at 23-under par after the 36-hole cut, eclipsing the old mark set by Stanford in 1994 at 11-under.
Knight, who's best finish before this year at the NCAA Championships was second in 1996, then failed to make the cut in 1997, led his team to the title in only his 10th try with the Rebels.
"This year we have won when we were ahead going into the final round, when we were coming from behind and when we were even," Knight said. "The experience that we gained during the year really helped today. When you win a lot, you get comfortable with the fact that it will always come down to the final holes. It did today and we were ready."
Knight was also impressed with the way his team battled from the very beginning of the season and persevered . "After not making the cut last year and losing the players we did, for this team to gain the No. 1 spot again, coming in expected to win, and with the pressure, holding on for the victory makes me very proud."
Clemson finished 31-under par in second place, while Georgia Tech was second at 30-under, Oklahoma State was fourth at 25-under and Arizona State rounds out the top five, finishing 22-under par.
Freshman James McLean of Minnesota shot a final-round 69 and hung on for the individual championship at 17-under-par 271.
"It's a big thrill coming over from Australia and win it," McLean said. "I was only a top-five or ten player there and to win it here (in the United States) means a lot. All of the best players are over here and I came here to play with the best."
With his 17-under, McLean tied the NCAA record held by John Inman (North Carolina, 1984), Phil Mickelson (Arizona State, 1992) and Justin Leonard (Texas, 1994) for lowest tournament total.
UNLV junior Chris Berry, who had a nightmare of a tournament in 1996, as he finished dead last, led the Rebels and finished in a tie for second place one shot back at 16-under.
"I am so proud of Chris," Knight said. "For him to comeback and lead us to victory after his previous NCAA performance is just so special."
"One of the things that made me play so well was looking at the scoreboards," Berry said. "When the team went low in the second round I kept looking at the updates on the board and we kept getting lower and lower. It really fired me up and I just wanted to help the team."
Also tying for second was Stanford's Joel Kribel, TCU's J.J. Henry and Clemson's Charles Warren.
STACKING UP: UNLV is an impressive 57-15 this season vs. the other 29 teams making up the 1999 NCAA Championships. UNLV has a winning record against 19 of the teams, is .500 against two of the teams and has not faced eight of the teams. UNLV does not have a losing record against any of the teams this season.
UNLV vs. THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FIELD BY REGIONAL FINISH (57-15):
West Central East
1. Arizona State (5) 5-3 1. Minnesota (6) 3-1 1. Georgia Tech (3) 3-1
2. UNLV (2) 2. Northwestern (10) dnp 2. South Carolina (11) 2-0
3. Brigham Young (16) 3-1 3. Nebraska (12) dnp 3. Florida (9) 1-1
4. California (18) 3-0 4. Oklahoma State (8) 6-1 4. Georgia (1) 3-2
5. Oregon (15) 2-0 5. Houston (7) 4-1 5. E. Tennessee St. (19) 2-0
6. SDSU (33) 2-0 6. Toledo (44) dnp 6. Duke (32) 1-0
7. Washington (14) 1-1 7. Illinois (46) dnp 7. North Carolina (17) 1-0
8. Colorado State (35) 3-0 8. Arkansas 1-0 8. Richmond dnp
9. Arizona 7-1 9. Kansas (28) 1-0 9. Missisppi (37) dnp
10. Colorado dnp 10. Clemson (4) 3-2
11. Augusta State (27) dnp
**MasterCard Collegiate Golf Ranking as of May 26 in Parentheses, also listed in order of finish
ANDERSON IS WAC'S PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jeremy Anderson was named the 1998-99 WAC Player of the Year following the WAC Championships on May 5.
REBEL HONORS: Jeremy Anderson and Michael Kirk were both named to the 1998-99 All-WAC team. Chris Berry was named WAC Golfer of the Week on April 6 after recording his first career victory at the U.S. Collegiate Golf Championships. Adam Scott was named WAC Golfer of the Week on March 29 after turning in the best finish of his career, tying for fourth at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate. Michael Kirk was named WAC Golfer of the Week on Feb. 25 after he captured the first individual title of his career at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate. Coach Knight was honored again for his role in leading UNLV to the national championship. Knight was selected as the Golf Coaches Association of America's National Coach of the Year and District VIII Coach of the Year in January. He was also recently invited to fly with the U.S. Air Force's Thunderbirds. In December, Jeremy Anderson was selected as the WAC's Golfer of the Month for November. It marked the second time in his career he has been selected for that award.
REBEL RANKINGS: UNLV is ranked No. 1 in the Golfstat rankings. In the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings, the Rebels are No. 2 and in the Golfweek Sagarin College Rankings, UNLV is No. 4.
Golfstat (May 25) MasterCard (May 26) Golfweek (May 25)
1. UNLV 1. Georgia 1. Clemson
2. Georgia 2. UNLV 2. Georgia Tech
3. Georgia Tech 3. Georgia Tech 3. Georgia
4. Minnesota 4. Clemson 4. UNLV
5. Arizona State 5. Arizona State 5. Arizona State
6. Clemson 6. Minnesota 6. Houston
7. Houston 7. Houston 7. Oklahoma State
8. Northwestern 8. Oklahoma State 8. Brigham Young
9. South Carolina 9. Florida 9. Florida
10. Oklahoma State 10. Northwestern 10. South Carolina
11. Florida 11. South Carolina 11. Minnesota
12. Washington 12. Nebraska 12. Texas
13. Nebraska 13. Texas 13. Northwestern
14. California 14. Washington 14. North Carolina
15. Oregon 15. Oregon 15. Nebraska
16. North Carolina 16. Brigham Young 16. UCLA
17. E. Tenn State 17. North Carolina 17. Oregon
18. Texas 18. California 18. California
19. New Mexico 19. E. Tenn State 19. E. Tenn State
20. Miss State 20. New Mexico 20. Washington
21. Brigham Young 21. Miss State 21. New Mexico
22. Augusta State 22. UCLA 22. N.C. State
23. South Alabama 23. N.C. State 23. North Florida
24. UCLA 24. North Florida 24. Miss State
25. North Florida 25. South Alabama 25. Pepperdine
UNLV'S INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS: All five of UNLV's players are ranked in the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings Individual Top 100. They are Michael Kirk (9th), Jeremy Anderson (12th), Chris Berry (37th), Charley Hoffman (57th) and Adam Scott (64th).
REBELS TIE PROGRAM RECORD: UNLV players have won a combined four individual titles this season. That ties the Rebel record for most individual victories in a season. UNLV had four in both 1993-94 and 1990-91. This year's winners so far are Jeremy Anderson, Chris Berry and Michael Kirk. Anderson won both the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate and Savane College All-America Golf Classic, which moves his career victories total to four. Berry captured his first career win at the U.S. Collegiate Golf Championships, while Kirk also recorded his first career win at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate.
THREE REBELS WIN INDIVIDUAL TITLES FOR PROGRAM'S FIRST TIME: This year marks the first time that three different UNLV individuals have won titles in the same season.
KNIGHT KEEPS ON WINNING: With UNLV's latest team championship at the BELLSOUTH Yellow Pages Intercollegiate in Cary, N.C., Coach Knight won his 36th tournament as head coach of the Rebels.
ANDERSON WINS TWICE: With his individual title at the Savane College All-America Golf Classic, Anderson won his second title of the year. He also accomplished the feat last season. His four career victories puts him in a second-place tie for most individual victories in a career at UNLV. He is tied with Chris Riley (1992-96) and Ed Fryatt (1991-94), who both have four as well. UNLV's record holder is Warren Schutte (1989-93) with six career wins.
CONSISTENTLY GOOD: Jeremy Anderson and Michael Kirk have easily been UNLV's most consistent golfers. Anderson has recorded nine top-10 finishes this year, while Kirk has turned in seven. Kirk has been on fire as he has finished in the top five in three of his last four tournaments and the top 10 in six of his last seven. Other Rebels who have recorded multiple top-10 finishes are Chris Berry with three and Charley Hoffman and Adam Scott, each with two. As a team, UNLV has finished in the top three in its last 10 outings and has won five of its last nine tournaments.
ANDERSON SHOOTS UNLV'S ALL-TIME LOW ROUND: Jeremy Anderson shot the lowest round in Rebel history as he fired an eight-under 63 during the third round of the Savane College All-America Golf Classic. UNLV's previous low round was 64, which three former Rebels shot. They are Chris Riley, Warren Schutte and Ed Fryatt. Anderson also tied the Rebel record for lowest 54-hole total with a 201 for the tournament. He tied Hub Goyen who shot 201 at the NCAA West Regional in 1990.
REBEL TO REPRESENT NATION: Jeremy Anderson has been selected to participate in this summer's Palmer Cup, which features a team from the U.S. against a team from Great Britain/Ireland...It marks the second consecutive year he will participate in the event...This year's event will be played at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tennessee.
UNLV NOTES: UNLV is making its 11th straight appearance at the NCAA Championships after previously never qualifying for the event...The Rebels have made the second-day cut at the NCAA Finals seven of the last eight years...UNLV's second-place showing at the 1999 NCAA West Regional means the program has never finished lower than fifth in its 11-year history at the event...UNLV has come in first (5) or second (4) in nine of its 12 tournaments this season and an amazing 30 of its last 44 dating back to the 1995-96 season...Senior Chris Berry and junior Jeremy Anderson are both making their third appearance at the NCAA Championships, while senior Charley Hoffman is making his second appearance...Junior Michael Kirk and freshman Adam Scott have never competed in NCAA Championships play...UNLV golf is one of only two team national champions in school history...The golfers won the title last season, while the men's basketball squad captured the crown in 1990...Rebel golf boasts one of the school's three male individual national champions as Warren Schutte won the big NCAA price at Pebble Beach in 1991...The other two are from tennis in 1997.
UNLV EARLIER THIS YEAR AT HAZELTINE NATIONAL GOLF CLUB: UNLV has played at the Hazeltine National Golf Club once this season when it competed at the PING/Golfweek Preview Invitational. UNLV (294-296-310--900) finished eighth in the event, while its top individual finisher - Michael Kirk (68-73-78--219) - finished tied for fifth.
NCAA WEST REGIONAL REVIEW: UNLV (288-289-285--862) finished second at the 1999 NCAA West Regional Championships, May 20-22, at the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort (par 72, 7,025 yards) in Tucson, Ariz. It marked the 11th straight appearance at the event for the Rebels, who have never finished lower than fifth place, qualifying for the NCAA Finals each year. Arizona State (283-288-283--854) captured the team championship. Brigham Young (288-289-287--864) finished third, California (301-284-289--874) finished fourth, while Oregon (297-285-293--875) and San Diego State (293-295-287--875) finished tied for fifth. Individually, Arizona State's Jeff Quinney (69-70-70--209) won medalist honors, while UNLV's Michael Kirk (71-70-71--212) and Colorado State's Nigel Spence (71-71-70--212) tied for second. Other Rebels competing were Adam Scott (7th/71-72-72--215), Charley Hoffman (T13th/71-74-73--218), Chris Berry (T20th/76-73-71--220) and Jeremy Anderson (T36th/75-77-71--223).
WAC REVIEW: UNLV (292-301-293--886) finished second for the third straight year at the 1999 Western Athletic Conference Championships, May 3-5, at Poppy Hills Golf Course (par 72, 6,835 yards) in Pebble Beach, Calif. Brigham Young (285-290-300--875) caputred the team title, finishing 11 shots better than the Rebels. BYU turned a seven-shot first-round lead into an 18-shot advantage after 36 holes. UNLV made up seven shots on the final day, however it just wasn't enough. Brigham Young's Manuel Merizalde (69-70-74--213) won medalist honors. UNLV's Michael Kirk (69-75-73--217) finished second, four shots back. Other Rebels competing were Jeremy Anderson (T9th/73-75-76--224), Charley Hoffman (T9th/74-72-78--224), Adam Scott (T12th76-79-70--225) and Chris Berry (T38th/78-80-74--232).
COACH KNIGHT SAYS: "We are real excited about the opportunity to play at Hazeltine. It is a great golf course, obviously, having hosted a few U.S. Opens. It is a tremendous course and it will take a tremendous effort to win. It will be hard and be a tough week. Last year's experience will help us. We have momentum and our guys feel like we have real shot at going back and repeating. Our goal has always been to peak at the national championship - we did that last year and had record-setting performance. I think we are in good shape (even though we didn't win the WAC or the regional). We don't put a lot of emphasis on the WAC or regionals. The last few years, we have really tried to focus on the majors in college golf. I consider the Preview, Golfworld, Golf Digest, regionals and nationals to be those majors and those are what we try to gear for. We have won two and had a second out of the first four this year and that prepares us for our main goal which is to compete for the national championship."
UNLV ALL-TIME AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Year Site UNLV Champion
1998 Albuquerque, N.M. 1st UNLV
1997 Lake Forest, Ill. 22nd Pepperdine
1996 Chattanooga, Tenn. 2nd Arizona State
1995 Columbus, Ohio 15th Oklahoma State
1994 McKinney, Texas 7th Stanford
1993 Lexington, Ky. 8th Florida
1992 Albuquerque, N.M. 4th Arizona
1991 Pebble Beach, Calif. 8th Oklahoma State
1990 Tarpon Springs, Fla. 18th Arizona State
1989 Edmond, Okla. 27th Oklahoma
UNLV NCAA TOP-10 FINISHERS
Place Name Year Score
1st Warren Schutte 1991 283
2nd Chris Berry 1998 272
3rd Mike Ruiz 1996 291
3rd Chris Riley 1993 287
8th Chris Riley 1994 281
9th Ted Oh 1996 295
10th Ed Fryatt 1992 285
TOURNAMENT QUICK FACTS
SCHEDULE
Monday, May 31
Practice Round, UNLV off No. 1 at 11:50 a.m. CDT
Tuesday, June 1
Practice Round, UNLV off No. 10 at 8:20 a.m. CDT
Wednesday, June 2
First Round, UNLV off No. 10 at 12:27 p.m. CDT
Thursday, June 3
Second Round, UNLV off No. 1 at 7:30 a.m. CDT
Friday, June 4
Third Round, Re-seeded, tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. CDT
Saturday, June 5
Final Round, tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. CDT
HOST SCHOOL
Minnesota
COURSE
Hazeltine National Golf Club
Par-72, 7,196-Yards
TICKETS
Tickets may be purchased by calling (612) 624-8080 or 1-800-UGOPHER. (All-session pass is $25, individual rounds: 1st-$5, 2nd-$5, 3rd-$10, Final-$15)
UNLV NCAA FINALS RECORDS
Best Team Finish: 1st (1998)
Low Team Round: 269 (2nd Rd., 1998)
Low Team Score: 1,118 (1998)
Low Indiv. Round: 65, Bill Lunde (1998)
Low Indiv. Score: 272, Chris Berry (1998)
1997-98 vs. 1998-99 STATISTICAL COMPARISON: The following is a statistical comparison from UNLV's national championship season and this season. Both columns are stats entering the NCAA Championships.
1997-98
Low Individual Stroke Average: 71.89, Jeremy Anderson (2,732/38)
Low Team Score (3 rounds): 829, John A, Burns
Low Team Round: 267, John A. Burns
Low Indiv. Score (3 rounds): 203, Jeremy Anderson, GolfWorld; 203, Chris Berry, John A. Burns
Low Indiv. Round: 65, Jeremy Anderson, GolfWorld; 65, Chris Berry, John A. Burns; 65, Bill Lunde, John A. Burns
Best Team Finish: 1st, Six Times
Team Rounds Par or Under: 20 of 38, 52.6%, 18 under
Most Ind. Rounds Par or Under: 23, Bill Lunde
Best Pct. Ind. Rounds Par or Under: 60.5%, Bill Lunde (12/28)
Total Team Strokes: 10,947
Total Team Rounds: 38
Total Team Score Avg.: 288.08
1998-99
Low Individual Stroke Average: 72.13, Jeremy Anderson (2,741/38)
Low Team Score (3 rounds): 832, John A. Burns
Low Team Round: 272, U.S. Collegiate
Low Indiv. Score (3 rounds): 201, Jeremy Anderson, All-America
Low Indiv. Round: 63, Jeremy Anderson, All-America
Best Team Finish: 1st, Five Times
Team Rounds Par or Under: 16 of 35, 45.7%, 14 under
Most Ind. Rounds Par or Under: 20, Jeremy Anderson
Best Pct. Ind. Rounds Par or Under: 54.3%, Michael Kirk (20/38)
Total Team Strokes: 10,293
Total Team Rounds: 35
Total Team Score Avg.: 290.14
