Zalli’s Childhood Dreams Come True With Vancouver Open Win At Fraserview
Ilirian Zalli Holds The Trophy After Winning The Vancouver Open - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Vancouver Golf Tour commissioner Fraser Mulholland has a video he shot 11 years ago when now PGA TOUR regular Adam Hadwin won the Vancouver Open in a playoff at Fraserview Golf Course.
In that video, you’ll see a youngster watching the action rather intently. That kid was Ilirian Zalli and on Sunday he became the latest Vancouver Open champion.
He did so in rather dramatic fashion. The former B.C. Junior champion, who grew up just blocks from the first tee at Fraserview, birdied his final four holes to force a playoff and then won that playoff with Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald on the first extra hole.
Zalli will tell you that dreams do come true because he’s been dreaming about a day like this one for many years. “I remember when Hadwin won it here,” Zalli said moments after his win.
“It was 11 years ago and I was nine. And it wasn’t just that year that I watched. I watched a bunch of years. As long as it was here at Fraserview, I’d be here watching. So this feels a little surreal to win it.”
Midway through the back nine, Zalli’s prospects of winning looked dim. Through 14 holes, he was three shots back of Macdonald, who has spent the last three years playing the Korn Ferry Tour. “I didn’t want to give up,” Zalli said. “I was three back with four to play and I just didn’t want to give up. I made a birdie on 15 and I think that was the biggest catalyst. And from there I just tried to give every putt a chance.”
Macdonald also birdied 15, so the margin was still three shots when they stepped up to the tee on the par 3 16th hole. With the pin tucked back left, Macdonald pushed his tee shot right and had a putt of at least 40 feet that he left well short. Zalli took an aggressive line with his tee shot, landing his ball about 12 left of the flag. He made his birdie and watched as Macdonald rolled in his lengthy par putt.
The two players were left with almost identical 40-foot putts on Fraserview’s tough par 4 17th hole. Macdonald putted first and once again left it well short. Zalli then stepped up and drained his putt for birdie. “It helped a little bit seeing Stuart’s putt,” Zalli said. “I could definitely see that maybe it wasn’t as fast as it looked and I tried to make sure I got the putt there. It just barely got there, but it went in.”
Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada
Stuart Macdonald Saw His 3-shot Lead Disappear Late In The Vancouver Open
Suddenly, Macdonald’s lead was just one shot as they walked to the tee of Fraserview’s par 5 finishing hole. Zalli now knew he had a real chance and did not hesitate in reaching for his driver. “Standing on the tee box I just wanted a chance to go at it in two and risk it all,” he said. Zalli split the fairway with his drive. Macdonald took a more conservative approach, hitting an iron off the tee and laying up with his second.
Zalli was left with 222 yards. It’s a daunting shot with a ravine short of the green and lots of trouble left. “I hit my 3-iron a little bit left, but I can’t complain too much,” Zalli said. “The distance was perfect. That’s all I wanted.” Zalli’s delicate greenside chip rolled about three feet past the flag. He then had to watch as Macdonald stood over a 12-foot putt for birdie to win the tournament.
“I hit a perfect putt, but it was just short,” Macdonald said. Zalli then stepped up and made his short birdie putt to send things to a playoff. That playoff, on the 18th hole, was rather anti-climatic. Zalli once again bombed his driver straight down the middle.
Macdonald decided he needed to take a more aggressive approach and grabbed driver. He then proceeded to hit two balls left into the hazard. He then put his third ball in play with an iron. They played out the hole, but it was over long before Zalli tapped in his par putt to make it official.
The win was worth $10,000 to Zalli. It also clinched the VGT’s Order of Merit and earned him an exemption into the GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon in Kelowna on the PGA Tour Canada circuit at month’s end.
Zalli said he did a lot of reflecting during the final round about the hundreds of rounds he and his older brother Christian — also a former B.C. Junior champion — have logged at Fraserview over the years. He thought about the many people at the course who had encouraged him on his golf journey. When he was presented with the Vancouver Open trophy, Zalli told the crowd assembled behind the 18th green how much he appreciated their support.
“The people that I know here, the starters, marshals, my friends, I thought a lot about you guys today when I was playing,” he said. “I didn’t necessarily expect to win, I just wanted to make you guys proud.”
Zalli appears to have a very bright future, although he’s not quite sure what direction he will head in beyond the upcoming GolfBC Championship. “I came into this event playing very well the last couple of months or so and that gave me some confidence,” he said.
“I feel great now. I feel like I am really playing well on this tour and I feel like if there is ever a chance for me to play on a bigger tour in the future I can handle that, too. Stuart plays on the Korn Ferry Tour and I just really enjoyed playing with him today. I feel like I learned a lot from someone who is older and more experienced.”
This was the 16th playing of the Johnston Meier Vancouver Open and the 10th time it has been played on the three City of Vancouver courses. The field of 60 pros and 252 amateurs played the first two rounds at McCleery and Langara before the field was cut in half for the final round at Fraserview.
Zalli shot rounds of 67, 65 and 67 while Macdonald posted 66, 66 and 67 to both finish the event at 15-under, each matching the tournament record set last year by Steven Lecuyer.
Macdonald, who earned $5,000 for his second-place finish, said he was fighting his swing most of the day. “I was hitting these weak, heel cuts that are almost slices,” Macdonald said. “I told myself at the start of the week I wasn’t going to hit driver on 18 no matter what. He hit driver on the playoff hole and I felt like I kind of had to.”
George Markham of Phoenix finished alone in third at 14-under. Richmond’s Ziggy Nathu was fourth at 13-under. Richmond’s Christine Wong was the low female pro at one-under par and earned a $1,000 bonus.
Mike Aizawa of Richmond won the amateur division with a score of three-under. Jessica Ng of Vancouver was the low female amateur at one-over par. Michael Seeley of Vancouver was the low senior (age 55 and over) at 11-over par.
Click HERE for complete final scoring.