MARICOPA, Ariz. (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV men's golf senior
Yuki Moriyama notched his second straight victory after shooting a career-low 8-under 64 in Tuesday's final round of Wyoming's Cowboy Classic at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club (Par 72, 7,546 yards). He becomes just the fourth Rebel to win consecutive tournaments and the first to do so since All-American Shintaro Ban in 2018.
Entering the day in a tie for first, Moriyama (66-69-64) pulled away from the pack with an eagle on the 16th hole and his 17th birdie of the week on hole No. 18 to finish the tournament with a career-low 17-under 199. His final 54-hole tally tied for the fifth lowest in program history.
Also surging in the aftermath of Monday's suspended play for lightning, the Rebels made a late push to finish second and only two shots off the lead with a combined final round of 12-under 276. They finished with a season-low tournament score as a team at 29-under 835, giving them their second runner-up finish and eighth top-10 outing of the 2023-24 campaign.
Adding another UNLV top-10 individual finish, senior
Caden Fioroni (69-70-70) tied for ninth at 7-under 209 as each Rebel scorer carded par-or-better scores for the two-day event. Behind the squad's top duo, senior
Ben Sawaia - who shot a final-round 4-under 68 - tied for 31st with a personal season-low 3-under 213 and sophomore
Wyatt Plattner tied for 52nd at even-par 216 in a field of 120 competitors. Junior
Trevor Lewis (+4) rounded out the Scarlet & Gray lineup in a tie for 77th.
The team trophy went to Grand Canyon at 31-under 833 through 54 holes, overcoming the best team score of the third round from the Scarlet & Gray.
QUOTABLE: "We gave it a run there towards the end, but second place as a team is something to be proud of. Each guy showed a lot of heart today. As for Yuki - in his second consecutive win now - he played solid from start to finish and capped it off with a great birdie at the last hole. His hard work is paying off and he's really inspiring his teammates."
-UNLV Head Coach Jean-Paul Hebert
UP NEXT: The Rebels conclude their regular season slate in Santa Cruz, California, at the Western Intercollegiate being hosted by San Jose State from April 15-17.
NOTES:
- This marked Moriyama's second career victory. His first career win came two weeks ago at Houston's All-American Collegiate after he won a playoff on the first playoff hole.
- The Rebels' second-place finish matched their highest of the season when they took second at Pepperdine's Southwestern Invitational.
- Moriyama (2) joined All-Americans Warren Schutte (4), Shintaro Ban (2) and Ed Fryatt (2) as the storied UNLV men's golf program's only players to win consecutive tournaments. Schutte achieved the feat in his 1991 national championship season and Fryatt in the 1992-93 campaign.
