We close out our UNLV Athletics Top 10 Moments of the Decade summer series with the Rebel men's golf team. Believe us, it wasn't easy to narrow it down to just 10. Check it out:
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NO. 10: JOHN ODA EARNS FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICA HONORS
First For Program Since Ryan Moore 12 Years Earlier
John Oda was named a PING First Team All-America honoree on June 1, 2017, as the Rebels were competing at the NCAA Championship in Sugar Grove, Illinois. He became UNLV's first First Team All-America recipient since Ryan Moore in 2005. It was Oda's third All-America honor of his career as he was twice named honorable mention (2015 & 2016). Oda was also named the Mountain West Golfer of the Year in 2017, leading the team to an Elite Eight finish at the NCAA Championship, where he was UNLV's top individual stroke-play finisher, tying for eighth. He led the Rebels that season in scoring average at 70.43 strokes per round and won two individual titles - also recording 12 top-10 finishes, including in each of his last nine events.
NO. 9: DEREK ERNST NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST GOLFER OF THE YEAR IN BACK-TO-BACK SEASONS
First UNLV Golfer To Accomplish Since Ryan Moore
In 2011 and for the second straight year, Derek Ernst was selected as the Mountain West Golfer of the Year. He became the first Rebel golfer to win back-to-back conference player of the year honors since Ryan Moore in 2004 and 2005. Ernst became the sixth UNLV men's golfer to earn his league's player of the year award and was the fourth to garner the MW's top honor. He was named the league's golfer of the year immediately following his MW individual title in 2011.
NO. 8: REBELS THREE-PEAT AT MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
Shintaro Ban Won MW Individual Title For 5th Career Win And Was Named A Finalist For The Nicklaus Award
The 21st-ranked Rebels led wire-to-wire and won their third straight Mountain West Championship by 11 shots at the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club in 2018.
Shintaro Ban fired a tournament-low 7-under 65 during the final round to earn medalist honors by nine shots. He set Mountain West individual records for total score, score relative to par and margin of victory. Ban became the seventh Rebel to win the MW individual crown and first since 2015 (Kurt Kitayama). Ban was later named a finalist for the 2018 Division I Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Barbasol. As one of five finalists, he was bidding to become the second Rebel to earn the honor (Ryan Moore in 2005). He was also selected that year to compete for the United States at the Arnold Palmer Cup.
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NO. 7: REBELS WIN 2017 NCAA REGIONAL TITLE, ADVANCE TO NATIONAL FINALS
Was Program's First NCAA Regional Win In 12 Years
In 2017, the UNLV men's golf team captured a NCAA Regional team championship. It was the Rebels' first regional title in 12 years and fifth overall in program history. UNLV overcame windy conditions at Kampen Golf Course in West Lafayette, Indiana, advancing to the national finals for the second time in three seasons with the victory.
Following the win, head coach
Dwaine Knight said: "The first two rounds we really played great golf and that set us up well going into the final round. It was really tough out though with high winds. The course played really hard, probably as difficult as any course that these guys have played. The big thing was that we hung in there and got it done at the end. Winning at NCAA Regionals is big for us and I am very proud of our guys and we are excited to move on."
Individually, the Rebels had three players finish in the top six. Shintaro Ban tied for third at 2-under, John Oda was fifth at 1-under and Harry Hall was sixth at even par.
NO. 6: NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SQUAD INDUCTED INTO SOUTHERN NEVADA SPORTS HALL OF FAME
One Of Only Two National Title Teams In School History Honored In 2016 By Local Organization
The 1998 national champion UNLV men's golf team was inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2016. That squad is still one of only two Rebel teams, along with 1990 men's basketball, to earn a national championship. Head coach
Dwaine Knight's team won that year's NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship at the Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Rebels shot a final-round one-over par 289 to finish at 34-under-par 1,118, which set the NCAA record for lowest total in history after also setting the national record for lowest team score after two rounds with 23-under par.
"It is a privilege to have this honor for our group," Knight said. "To be connected with a group that does so much for the youth of Nevada, not just Southern Nevada, is incredibly humbling and we are very proud to be a part of it. It was a great win for our team. We owe this city a lot. There is no place like it. I am proud to be a member of this community and we were proud to be able to bring a championship home because this city deserved it."
That team also set a school record with seven team tournament titles during the 1997-98 season and featured All-Americans Jeremy Anderson, Bill Lunde, Chris Berry and Charley Hoffman, while Knight earned conference, regional and national coach of the year honors.
NO. 5: COACH KNIGHT NAMED SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR
Local ESPN Radio Station Honored Selected UNLV Golf Legend In 2012
UNLV men's golf head coach
Dwaine Knight earned the 2012 ESPN Radio Las Vegas Sportsperson of the Year award. To celebrate Coach Knight's honor, the station held monthly charity golf events benefiting Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation and The Caring Place.
NO. 4: UNLV MEN'S GOLF EARNS NO. 2 NATIONAL RANKING
Team Won Five Of First Eight Tournaments To Begin Season
The UNLV men's golf team played its way all the way up to the No. 2 ranking in the country in 2012. In the Rebels' first eight tournaments during the 2011-12 season, they won five times and finished second twice. That team included honorable mention All-Americans Derek Ernst and Kevin Penner, along with Carl Jonson, Blake Biddle and Kurt Kitayama.
NO. 3: REBELS' WIN AT SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS COLLEGIATE MASTERS WAS SEASON'S FIFTH VICTORY
The Five Team Wins In A Season Tied For Second In Program History
The No. 11 UNLV men's golf team captured the team title at the 2012 Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters, marking the team's fifth win in the first seven events of the season. The Collegiate Masters, as it was formerly known, annually ranks as the toughest regular-season tournament in the country because of the strength of its field. This particular event featured 11 of the nation's top-25 teams.
UNLV's five wins during that season still ranks tied for second in program history. Following the win, head coach
Dwaine Knight said: "It was windy, the greens were really tough and the course played extremely difficult. It was nice to battle like we did. We hung in there and Blake (Biddle) made a big putt on the last hole to win it for us, which was very exciting. I am really proud of the way the guys played." Biddle earned medalist honors at 3-under. Kevin Penner tied for 11th and Kurt Kitayama tied for 15th.Â
NO. 2: GREAT SCOTT! - ADAM SCOTT WINS MASTERS
2013 Green Jacket Victory Marked First Major Championship Win By A Former UNLV Men's Golfer
Adam Scott's victory at the 2013 Masters marked the first major championship win by a former UNLV men's golfer. It was also Scott's ninth PGA Tour win and the 19th overall by a former Rebel golfer. Scott played at UNLV from 1998-99.
Following his win at Augusta, UNLV head coach
Dwaine Knight said: "I am really proud of Adam - just awesome stuff. It is such justice for him after suffering that really tough loss last year at the British Open. But now he got the one he really wanted, which was the Masters. We are all so happy for him. We have had so many guys from our program get so close to a major championship over the years with several second-place finishes and some third-place showings. So we have had some guys really close in the hunt, but to finally have one from our program is a real statement. It is great for our program. I am really happy for Las Vegas too. Part of the promise to get this program to where it has been from the start was to win a collegiate national championship and to produce major winners on the Tour. Adam has made that part of the dream come true."
NO. 1: REBELS ADVANCE TO NCAA'S ELITE EIGHT TWICE
Team Narrowly Missed Final Four At National Championship In 2013 & 2017
In 2013 at the national finals played at Capital City Club's Crabapple Course just outside of Atlanta, UNLV went from a tie for 21st to a tie for sixth place with a final round in stroke play of 8-under. The Rebels, who were 10 shots back of the cut line when the day started, turned in the lowest score during the third round - three shots better than any other team. Kurt Kitayama's eagle try from 2018 yards out on the par-4, 523-yard ninth hole, which was his last of the day, found the bottom of the cup and gave UNLV a 54-hole total of 2-over 842. That score kept the Rebels' hopes alive and ended up putting them in a tie for sixth and a four-way playoff for the last three spots in match play. UNLV made it through and faced Georgia Tech in the Elite Eight the following day.
After what head coach
Dwaine Knight called "a miracle" that got the Rebels into a playoff and then the Elite Eight, it took an extra hole to decide the season for UNLV in the quarterfinals of match play. The No. 7 seed Rebels ended up falling to the No. 2 seed Yellow Jackets in a sudden-death playoff. Coach Knight said at the time: "We found our identity as a team this last month and we developed some toughness and focus that was really needed. I am very proud of the fight we had this week and our resilience, which is what it takes to win these things. But today was a very painful loss. We played great golf, but lost right at the end. Again, I am very proud of our guys and this is going to be good for us down the line. You just hate to lose these because opportunities like this are so precious. It will be difficult for us over the next few days, but we have some fabulous memories from this week that we will be able to look back on, especially yesterday. It was such an incredible day with such a wide range of emotions while we were waiting to see if we would get in, then advancing in a playoff. But today really stings to have played such great golf and to come up just short. What a great run it was, but that obviously doesn't take the pain away of not being able to advance."
UNLV found itself in a similar situation four years later at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, as it came down to the 90th and final hole of match play, but a clutch birdie putt on 18 by No. 1 Vanderbilt's Theo Humphrey was the deciding factor as No. 15 UNLV narrowly missed advancing to the Final Four at the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships. The Rebels, seeded eighth after tying for seventh in stroke play, lost to the top-seeded Commodores by a score of 3-2. Following the match, Knight said: "I really liked the fight of our team today We fought so hard at the end and almost had a chance. That's what you are looking for out of your team, and we were in a position to advance past the No. 1 team in the country. Obviously, we wanted it to go in our favor, but our guys gave all that effort and put it all out on the line."
UNLV's season ended with its second Elite Eight appearance at the NCAA finals over a five-year span.
