Egor Zubov ended his college golf career with a national championship.
Hyunji Kim ended her freshman season of college golf with a national championship.
The University of Delaware golfers swept the men’s and women’s individual titles at the PGA Works Collegiate Championship, played May 5-7 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.
Zubov, a senior from Tel Aviv, Israel, took a four-stroke lead into the final round on May 7 after back-to-back 67s on the Straits and Irish courses.
The conditions grew much tougher during the final trip around the Straits Course, host of the 2004, 2010 and 2015 PGA Championships and 2021 Ryder Cup.
With temperatures in the low 50s and a steady 20-mph wind, Zubov was prepared for the worst.
“In the midst of it, the wind got harder,” Zubov said. “I made a few key mistakes in some sense, but was able to quickly adapt.”
His lead narrowed to three strokes after bogeys on Nos. 10-12, but he locked down six straight pars on the way in to shoot a 76 and finish at 6-under-par 210, three strokes ahead of Delaware teammate Arsit Areephun.
A sophomore from Chiang Rai, Thailand, Areephun fired an even-par 72 in the final round to finish at 3-under 213.
Kim’s victory was much more dramatic.
The freshman from London, England, trailed Miu Takahashi of the University of Nebraska by eight strokes with nine holes to play.
Scoring during the live broadcast on Golf Channel indicated that Kim had cut the deficit to two strokes heading into the final hole. When the UD golfer calmly rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt and Takahashi made a triple bogey, it appeared that Kim had scored a miraculous victory.
But a scoring error was discovered after the round, and both golfers finished 54 holes tied at 7-over-par 223. That prompted a sudden-death playoff, which began on the 10th hole.
“I was just singing, trying to distract myself,” Kim said. “There were too many cameras, too many people. I was really nervous and shaking in the cold.”
Takahashi bogeyed, leaving Kim a 5-foot par putt for the victory. She told herself, “I’ve holed so many 5-footers in my life, I can hole it.”
She made the putt, collected the trophy and celebrated with Zubov on the 10th green following the victory.
“Now that it’s over, it’s just been an incredible opportunity and I’m just grateful to be here and play such a fantastic track,” Kim said.
It marked the first time both the men’s and women’s individual winners have been from the same school at the PGA Works Collegiate Championship since Bethune-Cookman swept in 2000.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on X: @BradMyersTNJ. Follow us on Instagram: @DEGameDay
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