Greg Robertson’s best of for 2023: Golf thrives in Las Vegas
Las Vegas is one of the epicenters of golf in the United States, as evidenced by the plethora of quality courses and the dozens of professionals who have made Southern Nevada their home.
This year, as always, we tried to cover professional golf, amateur golf and the courses where residents can hone their own games.
Here are a few moments that stood out in 2023:
UNLV has only had two national champions. Everyone remembers Jerry Tarkanian’s Runnin’ Rebels basketball teams, but UNLV also had the best golf program in the country in 1998. A quarter-century later, the players and coach that made that happen reflect on the championship season and the bond they continue to share.
2. Lexi Thompson embraces spotlight
We broke the national news that the most popular player on the LPGA Tour would be teeing it up with the men at the Shriners Children’s Open. But it wasn’t until Lexi Thompson arrived at TPC Summerlin that it became clear what a brilliant decision that was by tournament officials. Thompson embraced the moment and showed she was in Las Vegas for all the right reasons.
3. Henderson golfer reaches peak of amateur ranks
Yana Wilson isn’t on the LPGA Tour … yet. The 17-year-old senior is among the best amateur players in the world and is already mingling with professionals. She’s lost count of how many tournament she’s won, and is still mulling whether to turn pro upon graduation or play college golf at Oregon. She’s a name to know no matter what.
4. Anannarukarn wins Bank of Hope Match Play
You never know when it’s going to be your week. Pajaree Anannarukarn arrived at Shadow Creek in May struggling with her game and filled with self-doubt. She left with her second career LPGA title after surviving golf’s version of a marathon: Seven matches over five days in the Las Vegas heat.
5. The most interesting 18 holes in Southern Nevada
The great thing about golf is no matter where you play, there’s always something special about every course. We called on golf experts, regular players and our own personal assessments to select the 18 most interesting holes on public courses in the Las Vegas Valley. It drew plenty of feedback of what was excluded because, no matter the choices, everybody has an opinion.
Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.
