CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE — Playing in front of his home gallery of family and friends — actually the only following of significance Thursday at Cherry Hills Country Club for the first day of the Palmer Cup — Steve Ziegler couldn’t let the moment go to waste.
Italy’s Andrea Pavan, who helped Texas A&M to the NCAA championship last week, led the Stanford sophomore from Broomfield 2-up after 12 holes. The impending rout was on for Team Europe.
But after Pavan went into the turn 1-up and won two of the next three holes, Ziegler made his move. His putts started falling and Pavan’s started straying in Ziegler’s 2-and-1 victory.
“Some have never seen me play golf,” Ziegler said. “Some have seen me play hundreds of rounds. I was going to be extremely upset if I lost both matches.”
He already fell to Pavan during four-ball play in the morning. Pavan only reinforced his presence as the NCAA’s hottest golfer. At the NCAA championships, he was tied for 60th after three rounds of stroke play, then won his match-play rounds 4-and-3, 8-and-7 and 7-and-6. He didn’t lose a hole in his last two NCAA matches.
Team USA finished the first day trailing 7 1/2-4 1/2. The Cup ends today with fourball in the morning and singles match play in the afternoon. The Europeans haven’t won a Palmer Cup in the U.S. since 2003.
International players have made their impact on collegiate skiing, basketball and track and field. Only in the last decade has Golf Coaches Association of America’s Mark Crabtree seen a big change in golf’s recruiting focus.
“The federations who run the programs are more willing to propose to the best players that they come over here and continue their careers collegiately,” said Crabtree, a former coach at Colorado State. “There’s no question for a young man if he’s not ready to turn pro in Europe, to come here and compete is a step up.”
The Palmer Cup, a two-day collegiate event patterned after the Ryder Cup, started as a series between the U.S. and Great Britain and Ireland.
The field was expanded to all of Europe in 2003. This year’s visiting entries include Italy, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, England and Sweden.
Italy has had one qualifier in Ryder Cup play: Constantino Rocca, who is currently on the European senior circuit.
The appeal of U.S. collegiate golf made sense to Pavan. He was dedicated enough to overcome the cultural transition from Rome to College Station, Texas. He speaks with a slight Italian accent, nowhere near a Texas drawl.
“I came here because the competition is higher. I can play on great golf courses,” Pavan said. “I think I improved since I got here.”
He doesn’t see golf in his native country on a level yet with soccer or cycling, but he sees some grassroots growth.
“The actual results, you’ll see in 10-15 years,” he said.
Before he turns pro, he’ll return to A&M for another run at the NCAA crown.
“Winning the NCAA was huge for the university,” he said.
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
