Patrick Rodgers, UNLV win at Southern Highlands

By Cassie Stein, Golfweek LAS VEGAS – Patrick Rodgers held off a late charge from Pac-12 rival Jonathan Garrick of UCLA and UNLV’s Kurt Kitayama to win his eighth collegiate title - and third of the 2013-14 season - at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters on Sunday. Host UNLV (22-over 886) won the team title two shots over Stanford and Oklahoma State. The Cowboys shot a 1-under 287 in the final round to get into contention. Top-ranked Alabama and UCLA finished in a tie for fourth at 33-over 897. Rodgers, No. 12 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College rankings, shot a final-round, 2-over 74 for the two-shot victory on the par-72, 7,374-yard course. The Stanford junior bogeyed the 16th after taking an unplayable lie. His playing competitor, Garrick, had a one-shot lead heading into the demanding 17th, but found water off the tee. Rodgers picked up pars on Nos. 17 and 18 for the win and is now three wins shy of tying Tiger Woods for the most wins in school history. Garrick, Kitayama, New Mexico’s Gavin Green, Texas’ Toni Hakula, Oklahoma State’s Wyndham Clark and Oklahoma’s Michael Schoolcraft finished T-2 at 3-over 219.