Men's Golf 9/14/2018 3:52:00 PM

No. 23 Rebels Tied For 3rd After First Day At Season Opener

Junior Justin Kim one shot off the individual lead after firing opening-round 4-under 66.

OLYMPIA FIELDS, ILL. (UNLVRebels.com) - The No. 23 UNLV men's golf team shot a 3-over-par 283 on Friday during the opening round of the Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational, which is being played at Olympia Fields CC (par 70, 7,353 yards – North Course).

The Rebels, who are tied with South Carolina in third place, trail the team leaders by 10 shots. No. 11 California and No. 1 Oklahoma State both shot 7-under 273. No. 2 Alabama rounds out the top five at 4-over. The tournament features 10 of the nation's top 25-ranked teams.

Individually, Oklahoma State's Matthew Wolff holds a one-shot lead over UNLV junior Justin Kim. Wolff carded a 5-under 65 that included an eagle and four birdies, while Kim had a bogey-free round with four birdies. There is a two-way tie for third at 3-under. UNLV senior Harry Hall is also under par, tied for 11th at 1-under.

STAT OF THE DAY: Only 12 out of 75 golfers turned in under-par rounds on Friday.

REBEL OF THE DAY: Kim's bogey-free round consisted of birdies on No. 5, 11, 12 and 15.

COMPLETE REBEL SCORES:
• 2nd – Justin Kim, junior (4k,-under 66)
• T11th – Harry Hall, senior (1-under 69)
• T49th – Jack Trent, sophomore (4-over 74)
• T49th – David Rauch, freshman (4-over 74)
• T64th – Garrick Higgo, sophomore (6-over 76)

TOP FIVE TEAMS: 
T1. California (7-under 273)
T1. Oklahoma State (7-under 273)
T3. UNLV (3-over 283)
T3. South Carolina (3-over 283)
5. Alabama (4-over 284)

There are a total of 14 teams competing.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: Second-round action will begin at 8 a.m. CT on Saturday with the final round starting at 7:30 a.m. CT.

LIVE SCORING: Live scoring of the tournament is available at UNLVRebels.com, courtesy of Golfstat, or by clicking here.

REBEL NOTES:
• UNLV is the three-time defending Mountain West champions.
• Last year's team also finished third at the NCAA Regional in Columbus, Ohio, and placed in the top 20 at the NCAA Championship.
• Trent earned the Mountain West Freshman of the Year award last season, while Hall, Higgo and Trent were all recognized as All-MW performers.
• Hall was named a Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar in July.
• UNLV has played in a NCAA-record 30 straight regionals.
• This year marks head coach Dwaine Knight's 32nd season leading the Rebel program.

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Players Mentioned

Harry Hall: 6' 3"; Senior; 3L

Garrick Higgo: 6' 1"; Sophomore; 1L

Justin Kim: 5' 10"; Junior; 2L

Jack Trent: 6' 3"; Sophomore; 1L

David Rauch: 6' 2"; Freshman; HS

Players Mentioned

Harry Hall
: 6' 3"; Senior; 3L

Garrick Higgo
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; 1L

Justin Kim
: 5' 10"; Junior; 2L

Jack Trent
: 6' 3"; Sophomore; 1L

David Rauch
: 6' 2"; Freshman; HS