Rebels golfer Han puts off shot at pros

The junior from Incheon, South Korea, has decided to stay at UNLV and return to the Rebels’ lineup after reaching the Q-School finals this month in Florida. He was the first college golfer to make the final stage, but finished tied for 149th in a 158-player field.

“I love it at UNLV and I still think there is a lot more I can learn here,” Han said. “By coming back and remaining in school and spending more time here, I feel that I can become more ready by the time I turn pro.”

Han, who leads the Rebels in scoring average with 68.63 strokes per round, played in three collegiate tournaments this fall and finished in the top 13 in all three. His 7-under-par 65 in the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate at Hawaii in November was UNLV’s lowest individual round of the fall season.

Rebels coach Dwaine Knight obviously was pleased with Han’s decision. Han earned conditional status on the Nationwide Tour by advancing to the Q-School final stage, but by opting to remain at UNLV, he forfeited his Nationwide spot.

“It was a very mature decision,” Knight said. “I think it was important that it was his decision. He had a lot of advice from a lot of pros and he had time to research it.

“I think the Q-School experience will help him. He saw how patient you have to be and he can work on getting stronger. He knows he needs to compete to get better.”

UNLV’s spring season begins Jan. 28 in Tucson, Ariz., at the PING Arizona Intercollegiate.