Local golf product loses chance to play internationally

Local golfer Zach Olson’s university amateur golf career was unfortunately cut short this year after several tournaments were cancelled due to COVID-19.
Olson was selected to play for Team Canada’s three-person men’s team at the International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Golf Championships June 17-30 in Taichung, Chinese Taipei.
The FISU championships in June would have been Olson’s final time competing as a collegiate golfer, and the first time he was ever selected to play in the World University Golf Championships. When he found out on March 27 that the tournament was cancelled, he said he wasn’t surprised, but he was disappointed.
“It was disappointing knowing that it was definitely going to be called off, but at that point it wasn’t much of a surprise with the current state of the COVID-19 virus,” said Olson who is also unable to play in several local B.C. tournaments this summer that he had signed up for.
Olson, 24, has been attending the University of Fraser Valley (UFV) in B.C. where he spent the past five years in the business administration program, completing his degree with a marketing major. Olson attended the university on a golf scholarship after trying out for and making the UFV Cascades’ golf team.
Golfing with his grandparents and parents ever since he could remember, Olson was quick to learn the sport and started playing in his first junior tournaments at 14 years of age.
“I started playing more tournaments each year where it eventually got to the point that I quit all my other sports and put my focus on golf,” said Olson, who added he has a naturally competitive side when it comes to golf. “My dad liked to play too, and at first my main goal was to finally beat him playing from the same tees.”
Olson has come a long way since then – he’s golfed in a Canadian junior championship as well as two Canadian amateur championships, and qualified and played in the 2019 Sahalee Players Championships among many other team titles with UFV.
“The highlight of my career was when our UFV team won the Golf Canada University Championships in 2018. It was the first time our program had won that event and my parents, as well as one of my siblings, were able to be there for it,” said Olson who added “it was a pretty cool experience.”
Olson is uncertain where his golfing career will head after this, although he hopes to teach golf in his spare time.
“Whether I stay amateur and continue with those tournaments or try to play a couple smaller events as a professional, I am undecided at the moment,” he said. “Either way, I will continue to play tournaments; I really enjoy the competitive side of it as it always gives you something to improve on.”
In the meantime, Olson said he plans on using this free time to improve his short game by practicing putting, chipping and pitching.