UNLV scuffles in first round of NCAA men’s golf championship

UNLV struggled mightily in the first round of the NCAA men’s golf championship Friday at Bradenton, Fla., shooting 14-over-par 302 at Concession Golf Club.

The Rebels are 25th in the 30-team field, 16 strokes behind leader Illinois, which shot 2-under 286 for a two-shot lead over Georgia.

“We’ve put ourselves in a tough spot,” UNLV coach Dwaine Knight said. “We were too defensive on the course, and you need to put the ball in certain areas of the green to score effectively, and we didn’t do a good job of that.”

The top 15 teams after Sunday’s third round will advance to a fourth round of stroke play Monday. The top eight then advance to match play Tuesday.

UNLV’s best score was by senior Kurt Kitayama, who shot 1-over-par 73. He started slowly, but posted birdies at Nos. 14 and 15 to go from 3 over to 1 over.

Otherwise, the Rebels struggled on the 7,483-yard course. They were 12 over at the turn, with more double bogeys (four) than birdies (two).

Adding to their problems, the Rebels might be short-handed for today’s round because senior Carl Jonson has a bulging disk in his neck. He played Friday but shot 11-over 83, a score that didn’t count against the team’s total.

Jonson was OK when the team arrived in Florida on Monday but woke up with a stiff neck Tuesday. If he is unable to play today, UNLV will have to play with its remaining four starters.

“He’s getting treatment from the (NCAA) doctors, so hopefully he’ll be able to go,” Knight said. “He didn’t play a practice round, and he needed a (pain-killing) shot from the doctor to go (Friday). So we’ll have to see how he’s doing and make a decision whether or not he can play.”

Freshman John Oda, returning to the lineup after sitting out the regional with a sprained right wrist, shot 76. Normally, that score would not be helpful, but it was UNLV’s second-best round.

That’s how tough the round was for the Rebels, who also got a 76 by freshman Shintaro Ban and a 77 by senior Nicholas Maruri.

Knight said he’s still optimistic about finishing among the top 15.

“We’re capable of turning it around,” he said. “I just want to see us put up a good round (today) and go into Sunday with a chance.”

Southern California is third at 289, and San Diego State, the Mountain West tournament champion, is fourth at 290.

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