Rebels’ postseason already on course

While his team was competing at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational in October in Dublin, Ohio, UNLV men’s golf coach Dwaine Knight arranged for the Rebels to play a practice round at the nearby Ohio State Golf Club’s Scarlet Course.

Knight’s logic was if UNLV made the NCAA Regionals and was shipped to the Columbus Regional, he wanted it to have some familiarity with the course.

Sure enough, when the bids were announced last week, the Rebels were Ohio-bound. It made Knight look like a pretty smart guy.

“We were already at Muirfield (Village Golf Club), so we were able to get on at Ohio State, and looking back on it, I’m glad we got the opportunity,” Knight said. “We should be fairly comfortable playing the course.”

The Rebels, making their 25th consecutive NCAA appearance, are seeded sixth in the 13-team field at the Columbus Regional. They must finish in the top five to advance to the NCAA Championships, scheduled for May 28 to June 2 in Atlanta.

UNLV finished tied for second May 5 in the Mountain West championship in its most recent competition.

“I like the way we’re playing,” Knight said. “We played well at the conference championship, but New Mexico played a little better at the end.”

The Lobos, who won the Mountain West, are the regional’s No. 1 seed, followed by Stanford, Auburn, South Carolina and Missouri.

UNLV’s lineup for Thursday’s first round of the 54-hole regional will be senior Kevin Penner, sophomores Kurt Kitayama and Carl Jonson, junior Nicholas Maruri and freshman AJ McInerney.

Penner, the team’s top player, appears re-energized after a midseason slump. He took medalist honors at the Mountain West championship, and Knight saw that as an encouraging sign.

“He’s our leader, and when Kevin’s on his game, the rest of the guys tend to pick it up,” Knight said. “He’s refocused, and he played superb at conference. If he plays well this week, we have a really good chance (to advance).”

Kitayama said consistency is the key for the Rebels to reach Atlanta. They have advanced to the nationals only once in the past six years — in 2010, when they finished tied for 21st.

“I’m pretty optimistic,” Kitayama said. “Kevin’s playing a lot better. We didn’t play badly at the conference tournament, and our focus is to make it to nationals.”

Jonson said the Rebels have held things together in what has been a roller-coaster spring. UNLV struggled to a ninth-place finish in its home tournament. Then it won the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational. Then junior Blake Biddle left the team a week before the conference tournament for undisclosed reasons.

“We’ve had a lot going on this semester, but everyone’s pulling for each other,” Jonson said. “I’m playing the best I’ve played in a while. I was struggling in the fall because I came down with mononucleosis. But Coach Knight stuck with me, and my game has come around. That does so much for your confidence.”

Knight said another factor is the team has wrapped up final exams and can focus solely on golf.

“That’s huge,” Knight said. “The guys have been working really hard in the classroom, and now that finals are over, they can just concentrate on playing.”

The three-day tournament can be tracked at Golfstat.com.

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