To the casual observer, the UNLV women’s golf team’s new Excellence Center at Las Vegas Country Club might look like a routine golf simulator facility.
To the Rebels, however, it means everything.
“This is program changing,” coach Amy Bush-Herzer said. “There are no limitations on what it can become.”
The 2,000-square-foot facility houses two state-of-the-art hitting bays and launch monitors, a putting platform with projection system, a player lounge for relaxation and team bonding, and a study area to give team members a place to focus on schoolwork.
The facility allows players to work on their games at all hours or at times when weather prevents actual practice on the course. Players can also use the facility to practice a little longer after dusk.
“It allows them to leave on a good note,” Bush-Herzer said.
And the entire facility is exclusively for the women’s team.
“We have created a space for them, a place that we can look at as our space,” Bush-Herzer said.
UNLV athletic director Erick Harper said the facility is a testament to not only the current team but also alumni and supporters for making it happen.
“(It) gives the women’s golf team a home that will provide them an opportunity to get in work in all types of weather, to relax and to enjoy the game of golf at a level like never before,” Harper said in a statement.
The facility is already paying dividends for the future.
“It’s already giving us more traction in recruiting,” Bush-Herzer said, noting UNLV is now one of a handful of programs with a facility like this.
It helped her land two oral commitments in one day, something that has never happened in her 12 years leading the program.
”We are excited to see the impact this center will have on the future of UNLV women’s golf,” she said.
Chip shots
— Grant McKay fired rounds of 68-69 to finish at 7-under 137 and win the Championship division by four shots over Preston Harris at the North Las Vegas Amateur at Aliante Golf Club over the weekend. John Bobrowski finished at 5-over 149 to take the Senior division by three strokes over Kelly Knievel, and Chris Cookson finished at even-par 144 for a two-shot win over John Steele in the Silver division. Other winners included George Wolf (Championship net), Knievel (Senior net) and Brent Bingham (Silver net).
— Las Vegas LPGA star Rose Zhang has joined the ownership group of the Bay Golf Club, one of six teams in the new TGL, which is in the midst of its first season. Other owners include Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, NBA players Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and former NBA player Andre Iguodala. The move marks the first foray into ownership for Zhang, a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour who is juggling professional golf with completing her degree at Stanford.
— Maverick McNealy fell one shot short Sunday at the Genesis Invitational, but the silver lining is a leap up to 14th in the Official World Golf Rankings, his highest position ever. McNealy is one of five Las Vegas players in the top 100, a list that includes Collin Morikawa at No. 5, Min Woo Lee (55), Kurt Kitayama (85) and Harry Hall (89). Doug Ghim dropped out of the top 100 last week and sits at No. 103.
Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
Pro schedule
PGA Tour
What: Mexico Open
When: Thursday-Sunday
Where: Vidanta Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Purse: $7 million
2024 champion: Jake Knapp
LPGA Tour
What: Honda LPGA Thailand
When: Thursday-Sunday
Where: Siam CC, Pattaya Chonburi, Thailand
Purse: $1.7 million
2024 champion: Patty Tavatanakit
