SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — There have been a lot of firsts this week for Drew Zielinski.
It’s his first time out of the United States. It’s the first time he has had to work in practice rounds around pro-ams. It’s the first time he has gotten to see many of the faces he watches on television every week up close.
On Thursday, he’ll make his first start on the PGA Tour, earning his spot in the field of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in historic fashion. Three weeks ago, Zielinski, a senior at Lee University, won the Golfweek Fripp Island to Bermuda Invitational, and in the process became the first Division II golfer to earn an exemption from a college event directly into a PGA Tour event.
What makes it even better is his teammate, Bennett McNabb, is on the bag.
“Just to have him here is great,” Zielinski said. “It just kind of all fell together.”
Zielinski and McNabb, a fellow senior at Lee, were tied with three holes to play at Fripp Island’s Ocean Point Golf Course three weeks ago with the exemption on the line. While McNabb birdied the closing par-5 18th to finish at 7 under for the tournament, it was Zielinski who closed in stellar fashion to make history.
He birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th holes to win by two shots over McNabb. In the moment, the reality hadn’t set in for Zielinski that he was going to play on the PGA Tour. While having a phone call with the Butterfield Bermuda tournament director, the conversation about a caddie came up. After the win, jokes were thrown around that McNabb deserved to loop after his runner-up finish. Little did either Zielinski or McNabb know that would become reality.
“His class schedule was a little wider than most of the people I knew,” Zielinski jokingly said.
While Zielinski had a passport, McNabb had to rush to get one. Before leaving for Bermuda, he drove a little more than two hours from Cleveland, Tennessee, to Atlanta, for an emergency appointment. The process was easy; remembering all of the different documents he needed was the stressful part.
Zielinski and McNabb arrived in Bermuda on Saturday. There have been plenty of wide-eye moments for the duo in their first experience outside of the country, but perhaps the most thrilling is getting to meet the numerous pros they have watched growing up.
Whether it was hitting trick shots in 50 mph wind gusts next to recent PGA Tour winner Michael Brennan on the range during Tuesday’s practice round or listening to Danny Willett tell stories about Padraig Harrington, both Zielinski and McNabb have been taking in all of the little moments while still preparing for their tee time Thursday.
“Everybody is just walking around, and nobody is second guessing that we’re here,” Zielinski said. “They’re just doing there own thing, and you’re doing your own things next to them and kind of just fitting into the crowd.”
Heading into Wednesday’s practice round, Zielinski had only played nine holes of practice, though there were lessons going on around every corner. He tees off at 7:39 a.m. ET Thursday alongside Gordon Sargent and Samuel Anderson in his PGA Tour debut, and his goals are lofty.
“Go out there and contend,” Zielinski said. “I want to make the weekend and be a competitor on the weekend.”
There’s plenty of learning going on for McNabb, too, like talking to local caddies about tips and tricks, learning the do’s and don’ts for a looper at the highest level.
They won’t return back to school until Monday, so made cut or not, Zielinski and Bennett are hanging around for the weekend regardless. Earlier in the week, they were talking to a local caddie who was giving them a bit of insider knowledge on Port Royal Golf Club when they started discussing what finish would get them into next week’s RSM Classic. Players who finish inside of the top-10 get spots in the next week’s field.
“He was like, ‘don’t shoot for a top 10. Go higher,'” Zielinski said. “That sounds crazy, but that’s how these stories get started.”
Zielinski made history to get to Bermuda. Now he’s hoping to continue riding the wave of momentum with his teammate by his side.
