Sports Spotlight: Vanessa Zhang

On Oct. 19, Vanessa Zhang ’28 finished out the golf season, accomplishing an impressive feat: back-to-back first-place medals for the final two tournaments of the season. According to Harvard Athletics, Zhang is only the fifth female golfer in Harvard’s history to have two consecutive wins. In both tournaments, Zhang was the only golfer to finish under par, scoring one under in the Quinnipiac Classic and six under in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational. 

Typically, these two tournaments are the most intense of the season as they are back-to-back and usually fall during the peak of midterm season, Zhang explained in an interview with the Independent. This year, the golf team first left campus on Sunday, returning Tuesday, to then leave again from Thursday to Sunday. “We’re literally only on campus for a day and a half,” Zhang shared. “Everybody’s starting to feel like everything’s starting to catch up to them and school’s getting harder.”

Unlike in previous years, the Quinnipiac Classic was particularly intense since it took place during a nor’easter storm. The course was covered in puddles, and there was even a power outage the night before the tournament, Zhang said. “It was raining so hard that it was just super unclear whether we’d be able to play or not.”

Still, the golfers completed nine holes out of the 18 they were set to play on the first day, before they were told the conditions were unplayable. “It was probably the worst conditions I’ve played in.”

The next day, the golfers played 27 holes, as opposed to the eighteen holes typically played on the last day of a tournament. In the end, the tournament participants were only able to play 36 out of the 54 holes that were planned for Quinnipiac.

However, Zhang persevered, remembering her team behind her, supporting her every step of the way. “Being super present and just remembering that everybody else is going through the same thing, so it was no excuse to play any worse than usual, was really helpful.”

Quinnipiac was not the first time Zhang had competed in difficult weather, having played several tournaments, including the NCAA regionals last spring, in the rain. “Part of getting better at [playing in harsh weather] is just being in those situations,” she shared. “Then you feel the wind on your skin, and you’re like, ‘Okay, I need to add this much club to adjust for the fact there’s wind,’ or ‘I need to aim this much more left or this much more right because of the wind.’”

On the second day of Quinnipiac, Zhang checked the scores and noticed that she was ahead. She was confronted with the choice of either playing more conservatively and aiming for greens or playing aggressively and aiming to hit as close as possible. She ultimately decided to play aggressively, reframing her lead as widening the gap rather than hoping the other players wouldn’t catch up, she said. “ I started playing like my usual self…and then as soon as I had that realization, I think I birdied three of my last five holes.”

Luckily, this year Zhang had completed her midterms and was able to enter the final tournament of the season, the Lady Blue Hen Invitational, stress-free. However, during the practice round, she started feeling sick. “I thought I was on the cusp of getting sick, where I was like, if I drink enough water and sleep enough, then I’ll be fine.” 

The next morning, she woke up ill. “I’ve literally never felt worse in my life,” she shared. Still, knowing that this was the last tournament of the season, she pushed through and tried to do her best. “I went and shot I think my best one-round score of the season so far.”

During both these tournaments, Zhang managed to stay focused despite the conditions she was playing in, asking herself what she needed to do and tuning out distractions. “The first thing I do is put on my glove, then I’m gonna dry my hand in my pocket, then I’m gonna leave my umbrella, and then set up,” she said. “It was those incremental steps where I was really breaking things down and being super present that were super helpful.”

Overall, Zhang has come a long way since starting her collegiate golf career at Harvard, honing essential skills, including time management and being a team player. Still, since arriving at the University, the people around her have marked one of the most significant transformations, she said. “Meeting all these new people, where everybody has something so special about them, it just makes you want to become a better version of yourself.” 

While the fall season is over, the team will compete again in the spring for another four tournaments. Between her growth this last year and her first place win during the last Ivy League Championship, Zhang will certainly be the one to watch. 

Julia Bouchut ’29 (julia_bouchut@college.harvard.edu) accidentally asked Zhang if she had received the highest score in both tournaments.