UNLV golf teams head into spring season with high hopes

UNLV’s golf teams are ready to get back to work in the coming weeks following a fall schedule that saw the men and women win tournaments and climb in the national rankings.

The women had a terrific fall, winning the Ron Moore Intercollegiate outside Denver and finishing second in two other events. Those results vaulted the Rebels to 38th in the nation and well within range for an NCAA Tournament bid come May. They return to action Feb. 10 at the San Diego State Classic.

The men won the Trinity Forest Invitational outside Dallas among their four starts in the fall and begin 2025 ranked 44th in the nation. The Rebels’ next event is the Southwestern Invitational in Thousand Oaks, California, starting Jan. 27.

Both the men and women rely on senior-heavy rosters, so the programs have been busy restocking the shelves with multiple commitments for next season.

The women have signed four players: Demi Du, a Las Vegas resident originally from China; Yen Liu from Taiwan; Lana Yamagata from South Pasadena, California; and Jane Huang, a Taiwanese player currently playing at a junior college in Florida.

The men have commitments from two South American players: Nico Bencomo from Venezuela and Javier Santolaya from Chile.

Begin again

The PGA Tour is back in action this week with the Sentry kicking off the 2025 season at Maui’s Plantation Course at Kapalua.

But this isn’t the same old Sentry.

What served as the tournament of champions for decades has become another signature event on the PGA Tour. Just 31 players in the 60-player field were winners on the tour in 2024, meaning 29 others are being rewarded for finishing in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings without benefit of hoisting a trophy. And the money and points from the no-cut event they earn this week will give them a jump on returning to Kapalua in 2026.

Las Vegans Harry Hall and Maverick McNealy are in the field after winning on the tour for the first time in 2024, while Collin Morikawa is one of those nonwinners given a free pass into the tournament.

Two players are not in the field who were scheduled to play: No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who cut his hand on broken glass while preparing Christmas dinner, and Viktor Hovland, who broke a toe on a bed frame after arriving in Hawaii.

Chip shots

— Somerset Sky Pointe junior Drake Harvey, who last week committed to play college golf at BYU, took home the final title of the Southern Nevada Golf Association season. Harvey won the Winter Classic at Cascata Golf Club, scoring 76 points in the Stableford scoring system to edge Garrett Kieffer by one point and Ian Fritz and Matt Mitchell by two in the championship division.

Other winners included John Bobroski (Senior), David Foggia (Silver), Anthony Lembo (Championship Net), Artie Miller (Senior Net) and Barry Boudreaux (Silver Net).

— The made-for-TV Crypto.com Showdown at Shadow Creek failed to gain the attention of golf fans. Despite featuring four of the top players in the world in Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, the Dec. 17 match drew just 625,000 TV viewers nationwide, a minuscule number considering the event played in prime time on the East Coast. According to the Sports Business Journal, that number represents the second-lowest figure in the history of the made-for-TV matches in recent years.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.