Ilirian Zalli Should Feel Right At Home At Vancouver Open
Ilirian Zalli Tunes Up For The Vancouver Golf Tour’s Flagship Event Aug. 19-21 At McCleery, Langara & Fraserview - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
These are still the early days of Ilirian Zalli’s professional career, but the former B.C. Junior Boys champion is already making quite the impression on the Vancouver Golf Tour.
The 20-year-old David Thompson Secondary graduate has quickly recorded four VGT wins, including two earlier this month. Now he has his sights set on winning the VGT’s flagship event, the Vancouver Open.
Zalli likes to think he has something of a home course advantage heading into the Aug. 19-21 event that will be played on the three City of Vancouver courses: Fraserview, McCleery and Langara.
Zalli is intimately familiar with all three courses, especially Fraserview. He lives close to Fraserview, where the Vancouver Open’s final round will be played, and literally learned the game on its tree-lined fairways. “I would say I know it very well,” Zalli says of Fraserview.
“I've played the other two courses quite a bit as well. I’ve played junior tournaments there, high school golf events and just for fun in general. So I feel pretty good about my chances of winning. Hopefully, I just stay calm and don’t put too much pressure on myself.”
Zalli won the 2018 B.C. Junior Boys championship, the year after his older brother Christian won it, at Kamloops Golf & Country Club. Christian chose not to pursue the professional game and is now in his second year of law school at the University of B.C.
Ilirian Zalli With The BC Junior Boys Trophy In 2018 - BC Golf Image
Ilirian, however, never really had any doubt about what was in his future. He wanted to play professional golf and decided to forgo going the collegiate route. He’s taking some courses at Langara College, but is fully committed to chasing his golfing dream. He acknowledges there have been adjustments to make going from playing junior golf to pro golf.
“Especially going straight from junior golf, it’s been a bit of a change,” he says. “Playing for money is a little bit different mentally, knowing you are not out of a tournament just because you might not have a chance to win. You still have something to play for. So in a way that has been a bit of a positive. It keeps me involved and wanting to play as well as I can for the entire event.
“But there is definitely some added pressure. There is more to play for and definitely the competition is at a much higher level. When I was a junior I was fortunate enough to be a really good player and have a lot of success. Out here it’s a little more rare, but at the same time it is much more validating to be able to win as a pro.”
The Vancouver Open is a huge event for all the young local pros who are honing their skills on the VGT. For starters, it offers a $10,000 cheque to the winner. But for Zalli and VGT veteran Kevin Stinson of Mission, there is even more on the line.
The two players are battling it out for the Order of Merit championship and the winner will get a nice bonus in the form of an exemption into next month’s $200,000 GolfBC Championship at Kelowna’s Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club on the PGA Tour Canada circuit.
Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/BC Golf
Ilirian (R) Joined His Brother Christian & Henry Lei (L) On The 2017 BC Jr. Boys Provincial Team
Shortly after turning pro last year, Zalli tied for fourth at the 2021 GolfBC Championship. “I have kind of made it my goal this year to win the Order of Merit,” Zalli says. “Kevin and I are the only ones who can win it and if I can do that I'll be able to get that exemption.”
The Vancouver Open is clearly the VGT’s marquee event, but Zalli is hugely appreciative of every VGT event he’s been able to play in. He is taking a methodical approach to his pro golf journey and feels like the VGT is giving him great opportunities to work on his skills before taking a deeper dive into the pro game. “I have gained a lot of experience on this tour, a lot of valuable experience, and I’m hoping to one day graduate, if you will, to a bigger tour with all the knowledge I have gathered here and all of the experience.
“The Vancouver Golf Tour has been important to me. I sort of took it for granted when I was a first-year pro last year, but speaking to more people and realizing there aren’t many mini-tours of this caliber anywhere in North America, I feel very fortunate to be able to play this tour. I haven’t had to pay much in the way of accommodation. I have got to sleep in my own bed and it’s been a very good and nice start to my professional career.”
This will be the 16th playing of the Vancouver Open and the 10th time it has been held at the three City of Vancouver courses. Tour founder and commissioner Fraser Mulholland recently signed a new three-year deal with the city that will keep the event at the Vancouver courses through 2024.
For the second straight year, the Vancouver Open has a full field of 312 players, including 252 amateurs who play in four different divisions. The 60 pros will compete for a $40,000 purse. Both the pro and amateur fields will be cut in half prior to the final round at Fraserview on Aug. 21.
In addition to Zalli and Stinson, pro players of note include Victoria’s Steven Lecuyer, the 2019 and 2021 Vancouver Open champion, Tristan Mandur of Duncan, Ziggy Nathu of Richmond and Christine Wong of Richmond. Wong is one of five female pros who will compete against the male pros using equitable length tees. There is also a $1,000 bonus for the low female pro.
CHIP SHOTS: Spectators are welcome at the Vancouver Open. The lead group in the final round is expected to tee off about 2 p.m. . .PGA TOUR regulars Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford and Adam Svensson of Surrey are past Vancouver Open champions. Hadwin won the pro division three times, while Svensson was the top amateur three straight years. . .Lecuyer set the tournament record with the winning score of 15-under last year.