University of Delaware Athletics
Egor Zubov Building Momentum with Strong Summer
7/29/2024 4:27:00 PM | Men's Golf
NEWARK, Del. – University of Delaware men’s golf’s Egor Zubov has been busy since the Blue Hens’ season ended back in late April. The rising senior has been playing in several amateur tournaments in the U.S. and Europe and has been posting strong results including a pair of victories at the Andorra Amateur Open Championship and the Balearic U21 Championship
Zubov enjoyed his best season with the Blue & Gold as a junior in 2023-24, appearing in nine tournaments and posting a career-best 74.08 stroke average across 24 rounds. While his scores were good, including four rounds under par, Zubov wasn’t seeing the results in the standings as he did not finish within the top-50 of any of his spring tournaments.
Before heading back home to Spain at the end of the school year, Zubov had the opportunity to play at one of the world's most prestigious golf courses – TPC Sawgrass – in May when he traveled to the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship along with teammate Sparky Ariyachatvakin. In his first time playing the course, Zubov finished with a three-day score of 14-over par to finish in 13th place/
“I didn’t play my best in the spring, so I was happy to kick off my summer with a 13th-place finish,” Zubov said. “It just felt that if I was able to finish that well without playing my best golf in such a good tournament, I could build off of that and continue to play better.
“The practice round was such a cool experience to be there for the first time. It felt that the first day of the tournament I still wasn’t fully settled in. Just with how much history the course has and how much excitement it brought me to play.”
One of the highlights of the tournament for Zubov came in the opening round when he birdied TPC Sawgrass’ famous 17th hole, a short par-3 island green. It is a hole that has caused problems for the biggest names in golf as it registered 18 scores of bogey or worse in the final round of The PLAYERS Championship in 2024.
“It was amazing. It is such a short hole, only 140 yards or so, but it is definitely scary because if you don’t hit a good shot it is going in the drink, and you have to re-hit. I was lucky to hit a good shot and then make the putt and I was happy because it was so exciting to make birdie on such an iconic hole.”
Zubov carried the momentum from the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship as he began a busy summer with a top-25 performance at the Spanish Amateur. He kept things going with his first win at the Andorra Amateur Open Championship where, playing the course for the first time, he turned in a three-round score of 207 to cruise to a 14-stroke victory.
“I came in expecting to play well because I had just finished in the top-20 at the Spanish Amateur. I played okay the first couple of days and then played very well on the final day to get the win. I am winning and playing well because of two main reasons - I know where the ball is going, and putts are going in. I feel like, because of those two things, I have been able to shoot low scores and been able to win.”
The momentum continued to snowball as he qualified for the European Amateur Championship where he played against the best players on the continent. He followed a strong showing with his second victory of the summer at the Balearic U21 Championship with a pair of sub-70 scores (69-63) over the 36-hole tournament
“I played the European Amateur and finished 90th. It wasn’t the ideal score, but it was against the best 150 players in Europe and felt, for playing it the first time, I did pretty well. So, even though it wasn’t the score I was looking for, it was the kick to tell myself I can compete at that high level. And then playing that tournament after, it gave me confidence to compete in my own region and my own course.”
Following his victory at the Balearic U21 Championship, Zubov placed fifth at the Balearic Professional Championship where he qualified for one of the 10 amateur slots in the tournament by way of his amateur ranking. He will look to bring his momentum back to the First State next month as he will play in the Delaware Open in mid-August at Fieldstone Golf Club in Wilmington before returning to campus and getting ready for what he hopes to be a senior season full of more wins.
“Having a brand new team this year with so many guys graduating and so many newcomers, it is definitely going to be a change in dynamic. But I think it will be helpful for all of us and if we can get off to a hot start in the first few events it will carry on into the rest of the year.”
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