Ex-UNLV contingent grateful for coach
The shadow is the size of Bermuda. Dwaine Knight is OK with that. He has made a career of producing fantastic results as UNLV’s golf coach while existing in the same athletic department with a program whose popularity dwarfs all others like John Daly does Nicole Richie.
That’s the way it is sharing space with Rebels basketball, particularly when it owns such lofty expectations for the coming season.
“I think our golf program is nationally known and people realize the kind of kids that come through it,” Knight said. “The real champions are these individuals. They are the ones that speak most to our program.”
Ones like we saw this week.
Knight was standing just outside the scoring trailer late Sunday at TPC Summerlin, two of his former players having flirted with back-nine pushes near the top of the leaderboard at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
One — Chad Campbell — couldn’t quite reach it, finishing in a three-way tie for third at 22-under-par 266.
The other — Ryan Moore — imploded like the New Frontier. Moore reached the par-4 18th at 22 under and took a nine, twice hitting into an unplayable hazard and having to tee off three times. In the process, he went from a possible tie for third to a 12-way tie for 24th at 17 under and lost roughly $170,000.
And you thought your 401k was hurting.
“Obviously,” Moore said, “I am extremely disappointed.”
The irony of Moore and Campbell struggling at the end was not lost on Knight. He has for 21 seasons preached strong finishes to his athletes, and such wisdom has translated into a team national championship in 1998, two individual titles, 16 trips to the national finals, 37 All-Americas and a No. 8 ranking this season.
He has for 21 seasons talked over and over on the importance of being your best during the final three holes of any round.
“These guys want to win,” Knight said. “That’s what it is all about. They wanted to win for our program and the people of Las Vegas who supported them. It’s heartbreaking for them when they don’t finish as they would like, but that’s part of our sport. You have to hit good shots coming down the line.
“But they both made it a priority to be here this week. I’m really proud of them.”
He feels that way about all five former UNLV players who competed, with only Chris Riley missing the cut. It’s a pretty impressive sight for any coach, having so many of those you once taught now members of your sport’s most talented fraternity.
It means a few things: Knight is terrific at what he does, and former athletic director and now adviser Brad Rothermel — who hired Knight and was the driving force in convincing Lon Kruger to accept the basketball job — has a sharper eye for coaching talent than anyone in the athletic department.
“All the credit goes to Coach (Knight),” said Campbell, a four-time PGA Tour winner who still sports a UNLV cover over his driver. “He has produced a lot of good players. I give him a lot of credit for the success I have had.
“I just wish I would have played a few holes on the back nine better. I struggled through them. But 22 under isn’t bad.”
He could have made a harder charge at what proved the winning score of 25 under for champion Marc Turnesa, but you can’t win an event this bunched at the top with red scores by playing the two back-nine par 5s to even on Sunday and coming up short on a drivable par-4 15th.
It was nothing compared to Moore’s collapse.
He thought his first tee shot off 18 was perfect, but it never moved and fell into the hazard. Not playable. His second tee shot was just plain bad. Not playable. He was hitting 5 when teeing off for a third time but by then likely just wanted to sign his card and count the losses in a suddenly lighter wallet.
One of the first to meet the dejected Moore as he walked from the scoring trailer was his college coach.
“You’re awesome,” Knight told him.
They would do anything for Knight, all these former Rebels now earning large sums of money playing golf. It’s one of the first things that defines great coaches, the amount of respect athletes hold for them over time.
Dwaine Knight probably forever will exist within that immense shadow at UNLV. He’s OK with that. He’ll just keep going about his business, producing the kind of talent we saw here this week.
I wonder how much he knows about football …
Ed Graney can be reached at 383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com.
