Rebels Five Shots Back At MW Championship No. 7 UNLV men's golf shoots 1-over as a team on day one, freshman Kurt Kitayama tied for fifth individually at 1-under.
 
Kurt Kitayama is tied for fifth after the first round at the MW Championship in Tucson, Ariz.
Kurt Kitayama is tied for fifth after the first round at the MW Championship in Tucson, Ariz.
 
 
 

May 4, 2012

Results

TUCSON, Ariz. (UNLVRebels.com) - The No. 7 UNLV men's golf team shot an opening-round 1-over-par 285 on Friday and is in fifth place at the 2012 Mountain West Men's Golf Championship, which is being played at the Catalina Course at OMNI Tucson National Resort (par 71, 7,144 yards).

The Rebels trail tournament leader San Diego State by five shots after the Aztecs opened play with a 4-under 280. New Mexico is second at 3-under, followed by TCU in third at 2-under. Colorado State is fourth at even par. Seven shots separate UNLV from sixth-place Boise State. All eight MW schools are represented in the field, which is also made up of 40 individuals.

Colorado State's Zahkai Brown holds the individual lead by a shot at 5-under 66. His round was made up of an eagle, six birdies and three bogeys. There is a two-way tie for second at 4-under between TCU's Johan de Beer and SDSU's Alex Kang.

UNLV was led during the first round by freshman Kurt Kitayama's 1-under 70. He is in a seven-way tie for fifth place. Defending MW champion and Rebel senior Derek Ernstshot even par on Friday and is tied for 12th.

Other Rebel scores: freshman Carl Jonson and junior Kevin Penner are both tied for 15th at 1-over and sophomore Blake Biddleis 36th after shooting 7-over.

Play at the 54-hole tournament will continue on Saturday with 18 holes and conclude on Sunday. Live scoring for the MW Championship are available through a link on UNLVRebels.com.