Rebels collapse at finish, split trophy with UCLA

With nine holes to play and an eight-shot lead, UNLV had a firm grip on the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters championship on Sunday.

Then the weather changed.

The wind stopped blowing at Southern Highlands Golf Club. The temperature began to rise, and UCLA began making putts. Suddenly, UNLV lost its home-course advantage and its momentum.

The back nine became a bogey nightmare for the Rebels, who had to settle for a co-championship after the Bruins caught them by the 18th hole. The teams finished at 35-over-par 899 for three rounds, and Texas A&M and Southern California tied for third, nine shots back.

Individually, Arizona State’s Jesper Kennegard finished at three-par-over 219, one shot better than Florida’s Tyson Alexander and USC’s T.J. Vogel.

UNLV’s five players combined for 19 bogeys (or worse) against only five birdies on the back nine.

“The weather got good and we went bad,” UNLV coach Dwaine Knight said. “We had a shot to do it, but we didn’t finish.

“We lost three balls and just couldn’t keep it in the fairway. It’s very disappointing.”

Last year the Rebels played catch-up in the final round and passed Oklahoma State for a one-shot victory. This time they were the hunted, and they couldn’t hold on. The 40 mph winds of Saturday calmed considerably by Sunday afternoon and with it went the Rebels’ mojo.

Nobody was immune. Colby Smith, who had an eagle on No. 3 and birdie on No. 18, took a triple-bogey 6 on the par-3 17th as part of his 2-over 74. Brett Kanda had five bogeys in his last nine holes and shot 78. Eddie Olson, who also shot 78, had four bogeys on his back nine. Jeremiah Wooding took a double-bogey
6 on the par-4 11th as part of a final-round 76. Derek Ernst, UNLV’s top player who struggled the entire tournament and whose 8-over 80 didn’t count Sunday, had double bogeys on the par-4 15th and par-5 18th.

“He never felt comfortable out there,” Knight said of Ernst, who finished tied for 29th at 233, worst among UNLV’s five starters.

UCLA was able to take advantage and with Pedro Figueiredo’s par 72 leading the way, the Bruins managed to pull even. Because of time and travel considerations, there was no playoff and UCLA and UNLV shared the title.

“It’s incredible,” UCLA coach Derek Freeman said of his team’s comeback. “It’s really hard, really tough to beat UNLV here. But our guys got off to a fast start and we kept battling.

“It came down to the last few putts. Our guys made theirs and they didn’t.”

Though UNLV won its third straight Southern Highlands title and fifth in its last six years, Knight was not pleased with the way it came about.

“We’ve got some work to do,” he said. “We didn’t do a good job of managing our game on the back nine and that happened twice where the back nine got us. But you’ve got to put it behind you and move ahead.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.