Rain delay no help to UNLV golf

Things were going relatively well for the UNLV men’s golf team in Friday’s first round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters.

Then the rains came and prompted a suspension of play at Southern Highlands Golf Club. At that point, the Rebels had made the turn and started their back nine at 1 over par, but when play resumed an hour and a half later, things had gotten away from them.

The Rebels struggled in the wind and cold and finished at 11-over 299, 14 shots behind leader California, the No. 1 team in Golfweek’s rankings. Junior Blake Biddle shot par 72 for UNLV’s low round, good for a 12th-place tie, six strokes behind leader Patrick Rogers of Stanford.

Eight shots separate the top eight teams in the 15-team field, which includes nine of the teams in Golfweek’s top 10. The Rebels are in 13th place.

It was the first time since Southern Highlands began hosting the event in 2002 that the weather delayed play.

“It played hard out there,” coach Dwaine Knight said. “We were hoping to get off to a solid start, but we need to play as hard as we can and just keep grinding.”

Upon their return to the course after the delay, players were greeted by gusting winds and dropping temperatures. At times, the winds were 30 mph, and as UNLV was finishing its round, the temperature had dropped into the mid-40s.

The conditions didn’t seem to bother Biddle, who handled them about as well as could be expected.

“A lot of it is being comfortable,” said Biddle, who overcame a slow start in which he was 3 over after three holes. “We’ve played this course in every condition. I just tried to stay patient and battle.”

Sophomore Carl Jonson paced UNLV before the rain, playing 10 holes at 1 under, but he finished at 3-over 75. Freshman AJ McInerney was even when the delay came and finished at 4-over 76.

Senior Kevin Penner had an up-and-down front nine, starting with consecutive bogeys but making birdie at the par-4 No. 4. But he found the water at the par-5 No. 9 and took bogey to make the turn at 2 over. He also finished at 76.

Sophomore Kurt Kitiyama, who replaced freshman Zane Thomas in UNLV’s lineup, struggled after being 1 under through five. He made bogey on the par-4 sixth and then bogeyed the par-3 eighth to make the turn at 1 over.

Kitiyama’s woes continued on the back nine with bogeys at Nos. 10 and 11 to fall to 3 over when the rains came. He finished with an 81, though his score did not count toward the team total.

The rain softened Southern Highlands and might have taken away some of UNLV’s home-course advantage. The Rebels are accustomed to the lightning-quick greens, one of Southern Highlands’ trademarks. But the strong winds quickly dried out the course and made putting a dicey proposition, not to mention trying to land the ball on the greens.

“It’s the same for everyone,” Knight said, refusing to use the weather as an excuse. “You just have to go out and play.”

Today’s second round begins at 8 a.m. UNLV, which will be paired with Texas and Georgia, tees off at 9:12 from the No. 10 tee.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.