Zalli survives first stage of DP World Tour Q-school; Lauren Kim fifth in sophomore debut; UBC men, women win season-openers; Svensson ties for 13th at Procore Championship

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Both are seasoned competitors who enjoyed considerable success in their junior golf careers, but Matthew Wilson and Vanessa Zhang will tell you that teeing it up in their first collegiate event felt a little different.

For starters, they are no longer just playing for themselves. They are now part of a team. And then there are those long 36-hole days to start tournaments.

So it felt different, but that certainly did not prevent Nanaimo’s Wilson and Vancouver’s Zhang from making impressive collegiate debuts.

Wilson tied for sixth in his first tournament for Weber State University, a NCAA Division I school in Ogden, Utah. Zhang tied for ninth in her debut for Harvard University.

“Definitely before the tournament there was a little bit of an out of body experience and it felt a little awkward,” Wilson said of his nerves before teeing it up at the Dolenc Invitational in Madison, Ill. “But just getting out there and having the first one go really well gives me lots of confidence for the next one.”

Zhang said she wasn’t bothered much by any nerves, but felt exhausted after playing the first two rounds of the Nittany Lion Invitational in Pennsylvania on the same day. “Honestly, I think I had less nerves just knowing I had a team supporting me,” Zhang said. “It’s definitely a different feeling having a team behind you and supporting you and being able to celebrate birdies together, as opposed to junior golf where you are always playing as an individual.

“I think the other big difference is that it is 36 holes the first day. I have played a couple of 36-hole tournaments before, but we have always had at least a 30-minute break between rounds. But in college golf you just keep going, so that is definitely a change. It’s very tiring. But it made the second day, the 18-hole day, feel like a breeze.”

Wilson also found his first 36-hole day something of a physical and mental challenge. “I play a lot of golf, so it wasn’t too bad playing 36, but the rounds were six hours each and it definitely got a little tiring because I was out there carrying my bag for that long,” he said.

Wilson finished the tournament, which was hosted by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, at five-under par. He shot rounds of 72, 66 and 72. “I was really happy with my putting,” Wilson said. “Usually, I am a good ball-striker and it’s just hard to make putts. But my putting was really good and I felt super confident. It was nice to see some putts go in because now I know when I hit it good I can contend a lot more in college.”

The only disappointment for Wilson was the fact that his team finished in ninth place.

Zhang was delighted with the fact her Harvard squad finished second at the Nittany Lion event hosted by Penn State University. Zhang shot rounds of 74, 75 and 72 to finish at five-over par. “I think it was a solid result to start,” she said. “There are definitely a couple parts of my game that could use some work, but overall I think it was a good way to start my college career. I know that I can definitely improve from here.”

KIM FIFTH: Surrey’s Lauren Kim kicked off her sophomore season at the University of Texas with a fifth-place finish at the Folds of Honor Collegiate event in Grand Haven, Mich. Kim completed the 54-hole event, which was televised by Golf Channel, at one-under par. That was five shots behind winner Mirabel Ting of Florida State. Kim and her University of Texas teammates finished fourth in the team competition, which was won by the University of Arizona.

T-BIRDS TAKE FLIGHT: The UBC Thunderbirds opened their season in convincing fashion as both the men’s and women’s teams won by wide margins at the Bushnell Fall Invitational in Springfield, Ore. The UBC men beat the field by 30 shots with a 54-hole team score of even-par. UBC was led by Aidan Schumer, whose five-under total edged teammate Dylan Macdonald by one shot for the the individual title. The UBC women won the team title by 14 shots with a total of 27-under par. UBC’s Jessica Ng finished second in the individual competition with a score of four-over par.

OH CANADA: Surrey’s Adam Svensson tied for 13th at the PGA TOUR’s Procore Championship, but was only the fourth best Canadian. Ontario natives Mackenzie Hughes (T4), Ben Silverman (T4) and Corey Conners (T7) all cracked the top 10 at the Napa, Calif. event, the first stop of the PGA TOUR’s fall season. Svensson closed with a four-under 68 to finish at nine-under par. That was 11 shots behind winner Patton Kizzire. Svensson moved up two spots to 73rd on the FedEx Cup points list. Merritt’s Roger Sloan tied for 37th at six-under and moved up five spots to 168th on the points list. Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor missed the cut and remains 58th on the points list.

ZALLI PASSES TEST: Vancouver’s Ilirian Zalli birdied three of his final five holes and survived the first stage of the DP World Tour qualifying school at a site in Rosersberg, Sweden. Zalli, a past B.C. Junior and Vancouver Open champion, closed with a three-under 67 to finish the 72-hole event tied for 19th at even-par. That was right on the number as the top 21 and ties advanced to the second stage, which will take place Oct. 31-Nov. 3 at four sites in Spain.

EARLY EXIT: After sailing through two rounds of stroke play, where she tied for sixth, Nanoose Bay’s Shelly Stouffer was knocked out in the first round of match play at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship in West Newton, Mass. Next up for Stouffer is the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, which goes Sept. 21-26 at Broadmoor Golf Club in Seattle. Stouffer won the event in 2022 to become the first British Columbian to win a United States Golf Association championship.

MAKING PROGRESS: Vancouver’s Leah John continues to play well on the Epson Tour. The two-time B.C. Women’s Amateur champion closed with an even-par 72 and her three-under total left her tied for 41st at the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic in Alabama. John, who turned pro this past spring after completing her collegiate career at the University of Nevada, remains 54th on the Epson Tour’s points list. She is in the field for this week’s Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout in Arkansas, which is the second to last Epson Tour event of the 2024 season.

BUSY WEEK: The Simon Fraser University women’s team begins its season at this week’s Grisham Memorial Shootout, which will be played Sept. 20-21 at The Home Course in Dupont, Wash. The Red Leafs will then return home for their True North Classic at Riverway Golf Course in Burnaby, which goes Sept. 23-24. The SFU men will open their season at the True North Classic.

WHEELER SIXTH: Whistler’s Steve Wheeler tied for sixth at the Canadian Senior Men’s Championship in Saugeen Shores, Ont. Wheeler closed with an even-par 72 to finish the championship at one-under par. That was seven shots behind winner Miles McConnell of Tampa, Fla., who beat Stephen Jensen of Great Britain in a playoff. Victoria’s Mike Mannion, who tied for 16th at eight-over par, was the only other British Columbian to finish inside the top 20. Mannion and B.C. teammates John Gallacher and Neil MacLeod, both of Burnaby, finished third in the Inter-Provincial Team Championship competition won by Alberta.

CLOSE SECOND: Max Cohen, an instructor at the Langley Golf Centre, tied for second at the PGA Assistants Championship of Canada at Redwoods Golf Course in Langley. Cohen and Mitchell Fox of Caresland, Alta., finished the 54-hole event at 11-under par, one shot behind winner Wes Heffernan of Calgary. Heffernan came from way behind as he closed with a nine-under 62 to claim the $9,000 winner’s cheque. Cohen and Fox each earned $5,000.