Men's Golf 9/16/2018 4:09:00 PM

No. 23 Rebels Finish Fifth At Season Opener

Junior Justin Kim led the team with a tie for 14th individually

OLYMPIA FIELDS, ILL. (UNLVRebels.com) - The No. 23 UNLV men's golf team shot a final-round 11-over-par 291 on Sunday at the Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational, which was played at Olympia Fields CC (par 70, 7,353 yards – North Course).

The Rebels finished fifth at the season-opening 54-hole event with a score of 20-over 860. No. 1 Oklahoma State shot a final-round-low 2-under 278 to win the event by 18 shots at 11-under 829. No. 20 USC finished second at 7-over, followed by No. 11 California (+16) and No. 2 Alabama (+18). The tournament featured 10 of the nation's top-25 ranked teams.

Individually, Oklahoma State's Matthew Wolff shot even-par 70 on Sunday to earn medalist honors by a shot at 6-under 204. California's Collin Morikawa was second at 5-under. UNLV was led by junior Justin Kim, who tied for 14th at 3-over.

STAT OF THE DAY: Only eight golfers (out of 75) finished under par for the tournament.

REBELS OF THE DAY: Sophomores Jack Trent and Garrick Higgo, and freshman David Rauch all shot 2-over on Sunday.

COMPLETE REBEL SCORES:
• T14th – Justin Kim, junior (66-72-75=213, +3)
• T25th – Jack Trent, sophomore (74-71-72=217, +7)
• T27th – Garrick Higgo, sophomore (76-70-72=218, +8)
• T31st – Harry Hall, senior (69-73-77=219, +9)
• T42nd – David Rauch, freshman (74-75-72=221, +11)

TOP FIVE TEAMS: 
1. Oklahoma State (273-278-278=829, -11)
2. USC (287-281-279=847, +7)
3. California (273-286-297=856, +16)
4. Alabama (284-283-291=858, +18)
5. UNLV (283-286-291=860, +20)

There were a total of 14 teams competing.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV's next action will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, Friday-Saturday, Sept. 28-29.

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