UNLV star heads to professional golf after wrapping up college career

Things didn’t go the way Caden Fioroni hoped at the NCAA men’s golf championship over the weekend in Carlsbad, California.

A middle-of-the-pack finish — 71st in the 151-player field — brought a quiet end to a stellar career at UNLV.

Now it’s on to professional golf for the fifth-year senior from San Diego. Fioroni will most likely begin on PGA Tour Americas, which begins its 10-tournament run through Canada starting in July.

Players who finish in the top 25 on the PGA Tour University rankings earn full status on the tour, and Fioroni stood 17th going into the NCAA championships.

“I’ll probably have my Canadian status, which is not a bad start,” he said earlier this season. “And then work my way up to the PGA Tour. That’s the goals that I’ve got, and I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing, and I’m pretty confident I’ll accomplish my goals.”

Fioroni entered the NCAA championships ranked 21st in the nation, a status that should land him All-American honors when those are announced in the coming days. He’s already been named to the Golf Coaches Association of America All-West Region team and was among the 20 finalists on the Haskins Award watch list for college player of the year.

Coach Jean-Paul Hebert is eager for Fioroni to be recognized.

“Hopefully he’ll be able to be an All-American and add his name to that list of the standout players in the history of the program,” Hebert said.

Fioroni certainly has the credentials. His victory in March at the stacked Southern Highlands Collegiate and runner-up finish at the NCAA regional in Urbana, Illinois, should cement his status.

And now after graduating with a sociology degree, he heads to the professional ranks. He got a taste of that life in October when he played in the PGA Tour’s Shriners Children’s Open on a sponsor invite. His takeaway was professional golf is not that different than college.

“I use that week as a learning experience,” Fioroni said. “I didn’t have the nerves that I thought I would have. I just didn’t have my best game. Eventually, I felt like I belonged out there, so that was cool.”

Chip shots

*The last spot in this week’s U.S. Women’s Open field has been given to former UNLV standout Dana Fall, who was the first alternate from a qualifier in San Jacinto, California. The spot was being held for the winner of last week’s Mexico Riviera Maya Open, but Chisato Iwai was already in the field. It will be Fall’s first appearance in the national championship.

*Golfers can play at Red Rock Country Club on June 23 as part of a fundraiser for Southern Nevada junior golf. Spots are available for the 8 a.m. shotgun starting at $160, which includes green fees, range balls, cart and lunch. Registration: e.givesmart.com/events/J66/

*Las Vegan Harry Hall is working his way up the world rankings. He’s No. 85 this week after a tie for sixth at Colonial. Hall has made eight consecutive cuts, with three straight top-20 finishes, including a tie for 19th at the PGA Championship. Hall also jumped 11 spots to No. 27 in the European Ryder Cup standings. He’ll likely need a win or two by late August to get the attention of captain Luke Donald.

*Tim Hartman and James Baylis tied for the title at the recent Legacy Men’s Golf Association club championship. Flight winners included Baylis, Nick Jurado, Dave Klimek and Jerry Van Riper.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.