NO. 23 UNLV MEN’S GOLF RUNS AWAY WITH JACKRABBIT
TITLE
Rebels win event by 20 shots, Kitayama shoots 68 on Tuesday to earn first individual victory of his career at tournament in Primm, Nev.
2014 Jackrabbit Invitational Results
The No. 23 UNLV men’s golf team won the team title by 20 shots at the 5th Annual Jackrabbit Invitational, which was played at Primm Valley Golf Club (par-72, 7,131-yard Desert Course) and hosted by South Dakota State.
The Rebels shot a final-round 2-under-par 286 to finish the 54-hole event at 19-under 845. Utah Valley was second at 1-over 865, while Oral Roberts finished third at 23-over. Utah State was fourth at 34-over and Youngstown State rounded out the top five at 35-over.
UNLV junior Kurt Kitayama, who was last week’s Mountain West Co-Golfer of the Week after turning in a previous career-best showing (tie for second) at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters, fired a final-round 4-under 68 on Tuesday to earn individual medalist honors by two strokes at 7-under 209. It is the first individual victory of his career.
Kitayama birdied No. 7, bogeyed No. 11, then birdied both No. 13 and No. 15 before making an eagle on No. 18. Utah Valley’s Brayden Eriksen finished second at 5-under.
All five Rebels finished in the top 10, individually. Freshman Taylor Montgomery finished third at 4-under after a final-round even-par 72, junior Carl Jonson was fourth at 3-under after a final-round 3-over 75, sophomore AJ McInerney was sixth at 1-under after a final-round 1-under 71 and sophomore Zane Thomas tied for ninth at 2-over after a final-round 4-over 76.
UNLV freshmen Chris Tuulik and Redford Bobbitt both played as individuals. Tuulik tied for 39th at 13-over after a final-round 10-over 82, while Bobbitt tied for 44th at 14-over after a final-round 5-over 77.
The tournament featured 15 teams and 87 individuals. UNLV will be back in action March 28-30 at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.