Oct. 1, 2011
Results
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's golf team shot a final-round 1-under 287 to capture the team title on Saturday at the William H. Tucker Invitational, which was played at the UNM Championship Course (par 72, 7,562 yards). The Rebels finished the event with a 54-hole score of 3-over 867 and finished four shots ahead of host New Mexico.
The win was UNLV's second in as many tries this season as the Rebels also won their season-opening tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Lobos shot a final-round 2-over 290 to finish the Tucker Invitational at 7-over 871, while San Diego State finished third at 19-over, followed by Arizona and North Texas, each at 21-over.
BYU's Zachary Blair earned medalist honors at 7-under 209 after a final-round 2-under 70. New Mexico's James Erkenbeck finished second, four shots back at 3-under.
The Rebels had two individuals in the top five as senior Derek Ernst tied for third and junior Kevin Penner tied for fifth. Ernst shot a final-round 1-over 73 to finish the tournament at 1-under 215, while Penner shot a final-round 5-under 67 to finish at even-par 216. Ernst's final round consisted of two birdies, a bogey and a double bogey, while Penner's included six birdies and a bogey. Penner had a string of five straight birdies on holes 11 through 15.
"The team is playing well," said UNLV head coach Dwaine Knight. "We are getting good play out of all five guys and the key this week was in every round we had one person shoot a solid score. The course played hard, it was long and the conditions were tough with championship-type pin locations. I thought we handled all that really well.
"It wasn't our best effort as a group, but individually we were able to pull it off. It is nice to see that - to not really be at your best but still be competitive and find a way to pull out a win. Kevin played great today, and Derek also played well, again finishing in the top five. We are getting good play from everyone, which makes it exciting."
Other Rebels: sophomore Nicholas Maruri tied for 11th at 3-over 219 after a final-round even-par 72, sophomore Blake Biddle tied for 24th at 7-over 223 after a final-round 3-over 75 and freshman Carl Jonson tied for 34th at 9-over 225 after a final-round 5-over 77. The tournament had 16 teams and 96 individuals.
The team is flying straight from Albuquerque to Birmingham, Ala., today and will compete at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, which will be played on Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 3-4.
