May 1, 2009
Results
TUCSON, Ariz. - The No. 22 UNLV men's golf team fired a 13-under-par 271 on Friday during the second round of the 2009 Mountain West Conference Men's Golf Championship, which is being played at the Catalina Course at OMNI Tucson National (par 71, 7,136 yards). The Rebels, who are 8-under 560 for the tournament, are in second place and have closed to within four shots of the leader TCU heading into Saturday's final round. UNLV's 13-under round was the lowest of the tournament so far and set the MWC Championship record for a low single round, breaking the 272 mark by BYU in the first round of the 2007 tournament.
The Horned Frogs lead the field at 12-under 556, which is a MWC Championship record-low score after 36 holes, after a second-round 4-under 280. New Mexico, Colorado State and San Diego State are all tied for third at 5-under, followed by BYU in sixth at even par, Wyoming in seventh at 11-over, Utah in eighth at 15-over and Air Force in ninth at 23-over.
New Mexico's Steve Saunders shot a MWC Championship-tying low round of 7-under 64 during the Friday's second round to take over the individual lead at 9-under 133. Saunders has made 10 total birdies over the first two days of play. UNLV's Ji Moon and TCU's Johan de Beer are both tied for second, two shots back at 7-under. Moon shot a second-round 4-under 67 (six birdies and two bogeys), while de Beer was 5-under.
Defending champion Eddie Olson turned in UNLV's lowest score of the day with a 6-under 65 to improve to sixth place at 4-under 138 for the tournament. Rebel teammate Derek Ernst is also in the top 10 after a second-round 3-under 68 put him into a tie for ninth at 1-under 141.
Other Rebel players: Brett Kanda shot a second-round even-par 71 and is tied for 27th at 4-over 146, while Colby Smith shot a 2-over 73 on Friday and is tied for 33rd at 6-over 148.
Play at the 54-hole tournament will conclude on Saturday with 18 holes. Tee times begin at 7 a.m. PDT. Live stats for the MWC Championship are available through a link on UNLVRebels.com.
