November, 16th, 2024
2024 VGT PLAYER OF THE YEAR ILRIAN ZALLI EARNS EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR CARD FOR 2025
It gives me great pleasure to inform you that our 2024 VGT Player of the Year, Ilrian Zalli has done the unthinkable, battling three stages of DP WORLD TOUR Q-School to earn conditional status on the DP WORLD TOUR, and full status on the European CHALLENGE TOUR (equivalent to the PGA Tour's Korn Ferry Tour).
WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT. CONGRATULATIONS ILIRIAN!!
After an historic season on the Vancouver Golf Tour (winning a record 8 times this year), Ilirian flew to Sweden for the first of three stages of the DP WORLD TOUR Q-SCHOOL. Zalli would battle against 120 golfers in first stage, fighting to be in the top 20+ties through 72 holes in order to advance to 2nd stage. With a slightly sluggish start, shooting +1 thru 36, Zalli ramped up his play in the 3rd round, and finished with a dramatic run of 3 birdies in his last 5 holes to crack the top 20 on the number. He was through to 2nd stage of Q-School some 5-weeks later in Spain!!
Ilrian would fly home to Vancouver to compete in the BC Match Play Championship, an historic 79 year-old event event that he nearly won a couple of years ago.
Partnering with a good friend of his Jackson Jacob (2023 Canadian University Champion) in this team event, they were one of the top seeds to qualify through to the match play and one of the heavy favorites. Four weeks and five matches later, with some truly great golf played by both players, Ilrian and his partner were declared the 2024 BC Match Play Champions. This was Ilirian's 8th VGT win of the year, surpassing 4-time PGA Tour Winner Nick Taylor's record season on the VGT in 2013, and bypassing his single season earnings by quite a margin!! A season of dominance we haven't seen since Hadwin and Taylor came through the VGT!!
2024 VGT Player of the Year, Ilrian Zalli
At the conclusion of the BC Match Play, Ilrian flew back to Europe for 2nd stage of DP World Q-school, this time in Spain. His quality of play at 2nd stage continued to gain confidence, and he shined through with rounds of 69,68,66,68 (-13). Ilrian rolled through 2nd stage in a tie for 9th place out of 100 players, and he was off to FINAL STAGE the following week!
Ilrian's success on the Vancouver Golf Tour and his impressive play the first 2 stages caught the attention of one of the most popular golf writers on tour - Ryan French (@acaseofthegolf1 on Twitter & Instagram). Ryan has been bringing player stories to life from the trials and tribulations on tour since he has followed the PGA Tour Monday Qualifier scene the past 5-6 years.
Ryan got hired by the DP World Tour to document the Q-school finals last week to tell some compelling stories from some of the players who had particularly compelling stories and not necessarily top Amateurs who went from a top Tier Division one College Golf Program and got unlimited backing from the Alumni or Country Club to turn Pro & keep playing till you make it to the big leagues.
One such compelling story was VGT's Ilrian Zalli, who at just 22 years old had earned himself a spot into final stage of DP World Q-school. Not as a Stanford stand-out, but as a young golfer who made the decision to turn Professional at just 18 years of age. And as Ryan's great interview would account (CLICK HERE), Ilrian was winning at a record-setting clip on the Vancouver Golf Tour while facing some true adversity at home.
DP WORLD TOUR - STORY ON ILRIAN ZALLI (CLICK HERE)
Thank-you Ryan French for bringing both Ilrian's golf and family story to life!! You are a legend!
Since turning Pro just 4 years ago, Ilirian not only earned Rookie of the year honors in 2021, but followed up his rookie season with Player of the Year honors in 2022, winning VGT's flagship event, the VANCOUVER OPEN, an event he had watched as a 9-year old boy when PGA TOUR player, Adam Hadwin won in 2011.
You can actually see Ilrian in this great video of the final hole at Fraserview on You Tube below He's in the orange shirt behind the green! Such a full circle moment for Ilrian some 11 years later!
After another great year on the VGT in 2023 with 3 wins, Zalli went on to have a record season in 2024, earning his 2nd Player of the Year honors, by a land slide!
Ilrian has amassed a total of 16 Professional wins on the VGT in just 4 years, with a remarkable statistic of winning almost 30% of the events he played in over these 4 years!
FINAL STAGE - DP WORLD Q-SCHOOL (Nov.9-14th)
After a solid round of 69 (-2) in round one (T38th), Ilrian had one of his very few lack-lustre rounds the following day, carding a 1-over par 73. His 1-under par total thru 36 holes plummeted him all the way down to 95th place out of the 156 players in the field.
The top 65+ties would make the cut thru 72 holes to play the final 2 rounds of golf. And at the end of 6 rounds, the top 20+ties would earn FULL STATUS on the DP WORLD TOUR, with the next 50 players making the cut receiving a full card for the CHALLENGE TOUR and conditional status on the DP WORLD TOUR.
Ilrian's 3rd round was going to be key to him making the cut in order to earn at least some status on the Challenge Tour. And he managed the pressure with grace, carding a be beautiful round of 63 (-8) that included an ACE, moving him up over 80 spots into a tie for 12th thru 3 rounds!!
SUCH A CLUTCH PERFORMANCE!!
Ilrian gutted his way through the next 2 rounds, shooting rounds of 70, 71 to reach -11 for the tournament, sitting in T33rd with one round to go. He would need a big day on the final round if he were to move up 13 spots and earn full status on the DP World Tour.
FINAL ROUND
Starting off red hot with an eagle on 2 and birdie on 3, ilrian inched his way up the leaderboard inside the top 20 through the first 6 holes. He continued his steady play over the next 8 holes, avoiding a bogey all day, and then played some exceptional golf coming home, birdying 3 of his final 6 holes to record an impressive final round of 65 (-6) and a 6-round total of -17!!
WHAT A ROUND!
At the time of completing his final round, Ilrian sat in a tie for 16th position with about 30 players to complete their rounds. And while it appeared Ilrian might have a chance at staying in the top 20+ties for full status on DP World Tour at the conclusion of play, and a few players coming home with some incredible play on the final 4-5 holes, they would play spoiler for the complete run of the tables to FULL STATUS on the DP WORLD TOUR.
In short, Ilrian's run through all three stages of Q-School earned him FULL STATUS on the European Tour's CHALLENGE TOUR, and conditional status on the DP WORLD TOUR, meaning he has a full season of Championship events to play in 2025!! What an amazing run through Q-School. We are incredibly proud of your successes both on the VGT and advancing your career onto one of the World's grandest stages in golf!!
CONGRATS ILIRIAN ON YOUR GRADUATION TO THE CHALLENGE TOUR & DP WORLD TOUR!!!
Ilrian's experience will be documented by Jay Janower on the Global BC Morning News TOMORROW MORNING (Sunday) at 9:30am!
Make sure you tune into GLOBAL BC tomorrow at 9:30am to hear Ilrian's account from the last 5-weeks of Q-School and what's in store for 2025!!
On behalf of the Vancouver Golf Tour, I want to thank some key individuals and groups for their support of both the VGT and of Ilirian's career over the years!
Special thanks to Dana Prince, and to the Richmond Country Club for their support of Ilirian this year, giving him a home to practice & fine-tune his game this season!!
And to our valued VGT sponsors, media partners (Global BC, Jay Janower, JM Media), amazing host golf courses, to our generous player bursary fund contributors (Stephen Ames Foundation, Kelland Ventures, Getz Prince Wells LLP, Odlum Brown, IGA) & the 100's of volunteers who support our tour year-in and year-out........
A GIANT THANK YOU!!! 🙏🙏🙏
We look forward to watching Ilrian's successes out on the DP WORLD TOUR & CHALLENGE TOUR in 2025!!
GO VGT!!
Fraser Mulholland
President & Commissioner
Vancouver Golf Tour
