Mountain West Conference Announces Men's Golfers of the Month

Air Force's Whitney and UNLV's Ernst share September honor

Oct. 1, 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

Air Force senior Tom Whitney and UNLV sophomore Derek Ernst have been selected Mountain West Conference Men's Co-Golfers of the Month for September.

Whitney, a product of La Quinta, Calif., recorded a pair of top-three finishes in his first two events of the season, tying for third place at both the William H. Tucker Invitational and the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.

At the Tucker Invitational on Sept. 11-12 in Albuquerque, N.M., Whitney shot a 6-under-par 210 (69-66-76) on the par 72, 7,562-yard UNM Championship Course. He followed that performance with a 5-under 211 (72-71-68) at the Falcon Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo. Whitney's final round 68 on the par 72, 7,321-yard Eisenhower Blue Course helped Air Force to a team score of 866 (+2), marking its second-best score in the history of the event and seventh-lowest tournament total in program the history.

For the month, Whitney shot at par or below on five occasions and currently boasts a 70.2 stroke average.

Ernst, from Clovis, Calif., opened the season with the best finish of his career by tying for first at the William H. Tucker Invitational. There was not a playoff and therefore, he was credited with an individual tournament win with fellow Rebel teammate Colby Smith. Ernst finished with a 54-hole total of 8-under 208 (67-68-73) and helped UNLV capture the tournament title. He followed up the performance at the Tucker Invitational with another top-10 finish at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational. Ernst tied for seventh and was UNLV's top finisher with a 54-hole total of 3-under 213 (69-72-72).

In his final tournament of the month, Ernst tied for 12th at the prestigious PING/Golfweek Preview in Bremerton, Wash., after carding a 6-over 222 (76-74-72) on the par 72, 7,061-yard Mt. Olympus Course. Ernst currently has a scoring average with 71.44 over nine rounds and has shot three rounds at even par and three more under par.

This marks the second career MWC Golfer of the Month award for Whitney and first for Ernst.