No summer vacation for UNLV Rebels’ golfers

By Brian Hurlburt Special to the Review-Journal

6 years ago

Golfer Shintaro Ban in action for UNLV at the Southern Highlands Collegiate on March 9, 2016, at Southern Highlands Golf Club. (Courtesy/UNLV)

Former UNLV golfer Shintaro Ban practices on the range prior to the U.S. Open that begins Thursday at Shinnecock Hills in New York. Courtesy Shintaro Ban.

Players from the nationally ranked UNLV men’s and women’s golf teams have been busy during the summer offseason playing in local, national and international tournaments.

At a qualifier in Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club in California, rising senior Harry Hall shot rounds of 68-66 to qualify for the U.S. Amateur from Aug. 13 to 19 at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill in California.

At Evian Resort Golf Club in France, Hall and former UNLV teammate Shintaro Ban represented Europe and the U.S., respectively, in the prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup. Team USA won the cup 38½-21½, giving Ban, a 2018 graduate, bragging rights.

At Wilmslow Golf Club in England, UNLV women’s rising senior, Elizabeth Prior, finished tied for seventh at the English Women’s Amateur.

At Golf Club Murhof in Austria, rising women’s sophomore Polly Mack represented Germany at the European Ladies’ Team Championship. She finished tied for 34th, and Germany finished second.

Off the course, the Rebels earned distinguished honors.

Ban and Hall were named Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America. The Rebels were also recognized as an All-Academic Team. Ban and former teammate John Oda were All-America Scholars a year ago.

Ban, Hall, Garrick Higgo, Justin Kim and Jack Trent made the All-Mountain West academic team.

UNLV women’s golfers Alyssa Getty and Cathy Liu were named 2018 All-America Scholars by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association, marking the third time in four years that multiple Rebels received the recognition. Nastasia Kossacky, Shannon Oh and Mackenzie Raim were named to the All-Mountain West academic team.

Amateur inspires instruction book

Cary Davis, 68, had open heart surgery about two years ago, and he wrote a book during his recovery to help bogey golfers. Davis is a member of Los Prados Country Club and co-wrote the “Bogey Golfer Handbook” with Las Vegas PGA of America professional Jon Skaggs.

“I was struggling with my golf swing and my health, and the majority of my problem was between my ears and had to do with confidence,” Davis wrote in an email. “Jon gave me a small piece of the advice to help me relax on the course. He said, ‘Pretend you are an instructor and focus your concentration on what you’re playing partners are doing.’ ”

The quote was the genesis of the book.

Best finish since 1980

The Southern Nevada Girls Junior Americas Cup team — comprised of Kendall Newman, Kenzie Hall, Riana Mission and Gabby DeNunzio — finished fourth at Hiwan Golf Club in Colorado. It was the best showing for a local team since a second-place finish in 1980.

This year’s team was led by Mission, who finished seventh. Hall was ninth and shot 68 in the first round, the tournament’s low score.

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Stars on, off course

SNGA members Brady Exber and Steven Fink played a practice round together at the British Senior Amateur at Royal Porthcawl in South Wales.

The golf notebook appears Wednesdays. Freelance writer Brian Hurlburt is a two-time author who has covered golf in Las Vegas for more than two decades. He can be reached at bhurlburt5@gmail.com or @LVGolfInsider.