April 8, 2001
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico - A final round three-under par score of 69 dropped UNLV senior golfer Scott Lander to five-under par for the tournament and into a tie for fourth place at the Ford U.S. Collegiate Championships at Vista Vallarta Golf Course on Sunday.
Lander, who fired back-to-back 71s in the tourney's first two rounds, leapt from 12th place to fourth with his best round. He was one of just four golfers to break 70 on the tourney's final day.
Among those four golfers were Northwestern's Luke Donald and Georgia's Nick Cassini. Donald turned in the best single-round score of the tournament on Sunday, carding a seven-under par 65 to edge Cassini for medalist honors. Cassini, who had led after the first two rounds, shot a respectable 69 on Sunday to improve to 12-under par, but fell two strokes behind Donald.
Donald was not able, however, to keep the Bulldogs from capturing the team title. They were the only squad in the 12-team field to finish under par, and blew the opposition away by 33 strokes.
Lander's fourth-place showing matches his top career finish and is his best this season. It is also his fourth top-10 finish this year and third in the last four tournaments. He currently leads the Mountain West Conference in stroke average.
UNLV, which sat in ninth place after the first two rounds, climbed two spots to seventh place after shooting a three-over par 291 in the final round. Along with Lander's 69, the Rebels added in a 73 from both Brett Foulds and James Oh and a 76 from Calvin Kupeyan.
Foulds, in just his third tournament as a Rebel, tied for 20th overall at three-over par.
The rest of the Rebel lineup did not fare as well. Oh and freshman Brandon Askew tied for 50th at 13-over par. Kupeyan was two strokes behind and tied for 54th. All three figured an 80 into his score.
UNLV will get no rest after the long trip to Mexico with its next tournament slated for this weekend. The Rebels head to Tempe, Ariz., to compete in the ASU Thunderbird/Savane Invitational on Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14.
