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By Chris Lang
ROANOKE — Professional Ryan Zylstra, the freshly minted champion of the 2017 Delta Dental State Open of Virginia, already had a bigger thing on his mind. And it had nothing to do with golf.
Zylstra, who shot a 6-under-par 66 on a steamy Saturday at Ballyhack Golf Club for a three-day, 10-under 206 to win the title by three strokes over amateurs Ji Soo Park of Fairfax and Michael Brennan of Leesburg, is eagerly awaiting the birth of his first child, a boy named Jaxon, expected to arrive any day now.
Years ago, winning a golf tournament would have been a life changing experience. But soon after he found out his wife was pregnant with Jaxon, he decided on a new career path as a PGA apprentice at The Federal Club in the Richmond suburb of Glen Allen. Zylstra, who was born in Canada and played college golf at Virginia Commonwealth, had given the full-time touring life a shot, but he never quite found his footing as a professional player.
The pregnancy news had a profound effect not only on Zylstra’s career goals, but on his golf game as well. In the past, he described himself as a “basket case” at times on the golf course. But with renewed perspective, he’s found a sense of calm when playing.
“My wife told me, ‘You need to change your attitude, or you need to find something else to do,’” Zylstra said. “I’ve made a more conscious effort to be positive, and it’s paid huge dividends. I’ve won a dozen times the last 18 months or so. I only won once my first 12 years as a professional. It’s been nice. I wish I had a really good answer to what’s with all the really good play, but I think it’s just a mindset.”
After shooting 72 in Thursday’s opening round, Zylstra saw the relative lack of low scores – Park was the only player to break 70 – and figured he had to find a way to get to 10 under to win the championship. Heading into Saturday, he was five strokes behind Brennan, the 15-year-old from River Creek Club. Zylstra had to keep pace early with Mark Lawrence Jr. (Hermitage CC), the VSGA Amateur champion who got off to a rousing birdie-birdie-birdie start. Lawrence added another birdie at 6 to get to 4 under, but Zylstra sank a birdie putt on 7 to get to 3 under for the round.
Behind them, Brennan, Park (1757 GC) and Logan Yates (Greene Hills Club) started leaking. Brennan’s 2-under start was erased by bogeys on 4 and 7. On 8, Brennan hit his drive into a hazard and struggled to a double bogey. By the end of the hole, Lawrence had taken the lead.
Zylstra bogeyed No. 9, his mindset for the rest of the round changed.
“I was safe for [low pro], because some pro was going to have to go really low to overtake me,” Zylstra said. “I was like, I want to win this tournament. So I was going to be aggressive and just try to take flags and hit the shots I need to hit. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, then, oh well. … You don’t always get a chance to win golf tournaments. You’ve got to take some chances sometimes.”
Zylstra played a bogey-free inward nine that included four birdies, and he took the lead for good when he birdied 12 and Brennan bogeyed the hole. Lawrence, meanwhile, failed to take advantage of opportunities, missing short birdie putts on 10 and 14. Zylstra pushed his lead to two strokes on 15, which features a shared green with the par-3 13th.
Both Zylstra and Lawrence hit their second shots well left onto the 13th green, leaving them difficult long uphill putts. Lawrence got up the hill to leave himself about 20 feet for birdie. Zylstra’s putt barely crested the slope, and he jogged quickly up to the ball to mark it before it could slide back down into the valley. Lawrence missed his putt, and Zylstra’s just slipped into the left edge of the cup, the birdie moving him to 10 under for the tournament.
Lawrence, who shot his third straight 2-under 70 and finished fourth, had his chances to come back unravel on 16. His drive found thick rough on a hill left of the fairway, and his second shot slammed into a tree and dropped into a hazard. He eventually made double bogey, and with neither Brennan nor Park could making a move behind him, Zylstra made three straight pars to close out the victory.
Though disappointed, Brennan – who shot a 2-over 74 -- was able to appreciate just what he had accomplished this week, tying the competitive course record with a 64 and adding to a resume that already included a Junior Match Play title and medalist honors at the Amateur.
“I thought two rounds in the 70s, making the cut, I would have been happy,” Brennan said. “I would have taken 7 under and low am in a heartbeat. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how I played this week. That 64 yesterday, that was cool. That was fun.”
Park shot an even-par 72 and added a low-am honor to a resume that includes three trips to the championship match of the VSGA Amateur. He said he wants to take some time off to concentrate on practice and fixing some issues with his swing.
“I made a few pars, getting out of the tall grass, but I didn’t have many birdie chances today,” Park said. “That hurt.”
Park and Brennan shared the Fritz Souder Trophy, which goes to the tournament’s low amateur. In addition to winning the Farmington Cup for the overall victory, Zylstra earned the Lyn Luck Trophy as the low professional. His name will be engraved on the big trophy with 2005 champion Ted Brown, whom Zylstra caddied for during Brown’s time on the Web.com Tour.
Now, Zylstra is focused on new challenges, like completing his PGA apprenticeship and welcoming his baby boy into the family.
“It’s going to be a life changer,” Zylstra said. “I’ve been playing tournament golf for a long time, but my first child, my wife and I are super excited. It hasn’t always been the easiest path. Golf was a struggle for a lot of years. … I just want to be home, to witness my son crawl, walk, and talk for the first time.”
Chris Lang is the Editor of Virginia Golfer Magazine and Manager, Digital Media for the VSGA.