Ex-Liberty High golfer wins Southern Nevada Amateur

Jackson Parrish’s stellar golf season continued over the weekend when he claimed the prestigious Southern Nevada Amateur for his third title of the year and second in two weeks.

Parrish, a 2021 graduate of Liberty High, finished at 9-under 135 on the Sun Mountain course at Paiute Golf Resort for a four-shot victory over Matt Mitchell. Josh Goldstein was third, seven shots behind.

Parrish shot rounds of 69-66 on the challenging Sun Mountain layout in a stellar performance that included more eagles (three) than bogeys (two) to go with five birdies. One of those eagles was the icing on the cake, holing out from the 18th fairway in the final round.

“It was weird,” Parrish said. “I wasn’t making a ton of birdies but made plenty of eagles. I took advantage of some good shots, especially into the par 5s.”

The win comes two weeks after Parrish captured the Reflection Bay Amateur. Yet he believes there is plenty of room for improvement, pointing to his bunker play and course management as areas he wants to focus on.

“I only made two bogeys in this tournament, and that’s good out here,” he said. “I just want to make sure to avoid making any huge mistakes. That can happen quickly at a course like this.”

In the Senior division, James Corey settled down on the back nine Sunday to finish at 1-over 145 to claim the title by one shot over Steven Fink and David Koch.

The first-round leader after a 71, Corey opened the second round with four bogeys in his first six holes to see his lead vanish. But birdies on Nos. 11 and 16 to go with 10 pars in the final 12 holes got him to the house with a 74 to claim the title.

The 16th was the key hole, as Corey made birdie and Koch bogey for a two-shot swing and a final exchange of the lead.

In the Silver division, Cyrus Whitney finished at even-par 144 for a four-shot victory over Mike Campbell. Whitney’s final-round 71 was the division’s only subpar round of the tournament.

Other winners included Matthew Affleck (championship net), Jack Kalmanson (senior net) and Loren Little (silver net).

Coming home

Morgan Goldstein, winner of the 2020 Nevada State Women’s Amateur, is leaving Iowa after three seasons to play for UNLV.

Goldstein, who played at Faith Lutheran, was a two-time Academic All-American at Iowa, where she had four top-10 finishes and seven top-25 finishes. Among her junior accomplishments, Goldstein won the prestigious Drive, Chip and Putt competition at Augusta National in 2015 when, as a 13-year-old, she recorded the only perfect score in the competition’s history.

“We’re very proud to have Morgan come home to play,” UNLV coach Amy Bush-Herzer said. “She has come up through the junior ranks here in Las Vegas and brings with her extensive experience playing in national tournaments and in the Big Ten.”

Knight scholarship

UNLV has announced a new scholarship to be offered annually in honor of Dwaine Knight, the Hall of Famer who stepped down last year as the winningest coach in program history.

The Knight Scholarship will be awarded to one UNLV men’s golfer each year.

“Coach Knight is one of the all-time UNLV legends,” athletic director Erick Harper said. “The program that he built and the success that it achieved is extraordinary, and we continue to celebrate him and his legacy. This scholarship is just one way that we can recognize all that he has done for our university and community.”

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.