11/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Nov. 19, 2015
@UNLVGolf on TWITTER
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's golf program received signed national letters of intent from Derek Castillo, Justin Kim and Yash Majmudar during the early signing period, head coach Dwaine Knight announced. They will all enroll at UNLV next fall as freshmen.
Castillo is from Yorba Linda, Calif., and is a senior at Valencia High School. In 2012, he won the AJGA Mission Hills tournament and the FCG World Championship at PGA West Stadium Course. In 2013 he established himself as one of the top-ranked junior players in the nation when he qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Atlanta Athletic Club and also achieved medalist recognition at the AJGA Polo Classic at PGA National Resort.
"Derek has consistently demonstrated excellence both as a student and in his golfing pursuits," Knight said. "His success competing at all levels of the amateur game is a credit to his family, coaches and own personal dedication to growing his skill-set and experience. His outstanding win at Mission Hills early in his junior career put him on an illustrious list of champions (including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Cantlay, Sihwan Kim, and former Rebels James Oh, Seung Su Han, Ryan Keeney and current Rebel Justin Chong). We have long anticipated Derek joining Rebel Golf and know he has a bright future at UNLV."
Kim is a student at Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, Calif. His junior golf scoreboard scoring average of 71.7 is one of the lowest in the nation. In June 2015, he finished runner-up at AJGA - PING Phoenix Junior at ASU Karsten with rounds of 68, 70 and 67. In August 2015, he was also runner-up at SCPGA-Toyota Tour Cup at Oak Valley with rounds of 69 and 67, then claimed victory at SCPGA-Toyota Tour Cup at Golf Club of Cali Fallbrook with rounds of 67 and 69.
"Such scores and top finishes show that Justin is ready to compete at the collegiate level," Knight said. "He has established himself as one of the strongest players in California, a veritable hotbed of junior golf talent, and we are proud to have him join the Rebel Golf roster."
Majmudar is of Indian nationality although he grew up attending various international schools in The Philippines, Thailand and Singapore, where his parents currently reside. In the fall of 2014, he entered the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy in Orlando, Fla., and has been studying in the Laurel Springs School Program. At the age of eight years old, he made his first hole-in-one and has been competing internationally since then. In 2012, he won the San Diego Junior Masters at Carlton Oaks Golf Club and in 2013, at age 15, he became the youngest player to be crowned the Singapore National Amateur Champion. In June of 2015, he won both the Junior Tour Of Northern California Summer Series event at El Macero Country Club with rounds of 71 and 69 and made a playoff hole eagle at Anthem Country Club in Henderson, Nev., to win the Ryan Moore Junior Championship after rounds of 72, 70 and 70. Continuing his form into the fall he also claimed fifth place at the Golfweek International at Lake Buena Vista Country Club shooting 66 and 73.
"Yash set out his goal of playing collegiate golf early in his his junior career," Knight said. "We are delighted that he has chosen UNLV to continue along his development pathway and to support him in achieving his dreams. His international and domestic U.S. schooling background is a great match for the environment here in Las Vegas and we are excited to introduce him to the Rebel Golf family."
