I could only take in a bit of the inaugural Northern Trust Open Collegiate Showcase Closed To The Public--make sure to hear Gary Williams nit-pick about that last part on Morning Drive--so I can't tell you all of the details of Will Zalatoris' round.
However...just to remind you how wonderful it is to be young, the freshman who hasn't been playing much in because of winter weather posted a 67 around Riviera playing the course for the first time, with alum Bill Haas and two other alums. And did it on a foggy day (adding a few hundred yards to the course) while way, way too many groups of briefcases turned the place into a 6-hour round fest.
John Dell of the Winston-Salem Journal on the first amateur qualifier in years at the event formerly known as the Los Angeles Open.
Zalatoris, the winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur last summer, had a solid fall season for the Deacons. He is part of a Deacons’ team that is ranked in the top 10 by Golfweek heading into the spring.
“I’m excited,” said Zalatoris. “I’m really not even nervous about it. I’m only 18 and I’m learning. I’m enjoying the moment for sure. I played with Bill Haas today, so it was so cool getting advice from him. It’s crazy fun. I’m just going to enjoy myself and be in the moment. I’m here to play golf, not think about winning the tournament. It’s my first PGA Tour event, so I’ll see how my game stands up and we’ll go from there.”
In the group best ball portion of the proceedings, Will Gray reports that Oregon's ringers were just one shot better than A&M's.
In an unprecedented event, college players teamed with one professional and two amateurs from their university. While the collegians played their own ball in a de facto 14-for-1 qualifier, the other three players in each group played a best-ball tournament where a $50,000 donation was awarded for first place. The Oregon team led by Casey Martin took top honors, defeating Ryan Palmer's Texas A&M squad by one shot.
