Double Trouble: Zhang and Feng Share Yale Invitational Crown

The Harvard women’s golf team fell just one stroke short of its first tournament victory of the fall, but junior Vanessa Zhang and freshman Rayee Feng still left New Haven as individual co-champions.

Feng and Zhang finished tied atop the individual leaderboard at the Yale Invitational, each shooting six-under par across three rounds at the newly renovated Yale Golf Course. The duo’s success helped Harvard finish second in the eight-team field with a final score of seven-over par, just one stroke behind tournament champion Boston College.

The shared title brought together two golfers at opposite points in their Crimson careers. Zhang, the 2025 Ivy League Individual Champion, serves as Feng’s mentor on the team as the rookie adjusts to collegiate golf.

“It just makes our win more special because I get to share it with her,” Feng said. “When you win with a teammate, I feel like it’s so much more meaningful than just by yourself because now we’re sharing it, sharing the experience.”

Harvard entered the weekend after a fourth-place finish at the Princeton Invitational, where Zhang finished sixth, and Feng tied for 14th. Both golfers also placed inside the top 15 at the season-opening Nittany Lion Invitational.

However, the Yale Golf Course presented a new challenge. Recently reopened following renovations, the course was unfamiliar to both golfers and featured blind shots, large greens and deep bunkers.

Zhang said the size of the greens forced her to be particularly deliberate with her approach shots.

“You could hit on the green and still have like a 90-footer, 100-footer,” Zhang said. “I was definitely just trying to reorient myself during the practice round and then be very disciplined in picking very specific targets.”

Feng similarly described the course as one of the “quirkiest” she has ever played. Even after a practice round, the freshman said she was still learning where to aim on several blind shots during Saturday’s opening round.

The Crimson nevertheless remained near the top of the leaderboard after the first 18 holes, combining for an eight-over 296 to sit in second place. Zhang led Harvard with a one-under 71, while Feng and junior Lucy Yuan each carded one-over 73s.

As the Crimson grew accustomed to the course, its scores dropped dramatically.

Harvard shot six-under as a team in the second round, the best round by any team across the tournament. Feng led the charge with a four-under 68, while Zhang added a three-under 69, and sophomore Nikki Iniakov shot one-under.

For Feng, the improvement also reflected the work she put in after the Princeton Invitational.

“Last week at Princeton, I was struggling a little bit with my shot contact and ball striking, so I worked a lot on that in preparation for Yale,” the rookie explained. “I was pretty happy that that was working a bit better for me during the second round.”

Feng recorded six birdies in the second round, including three in her first six holes. Her 68 was the best round by a Harvard golfer over the weekend and moved the freshman firmly into contention for the individual title.

Zhang also recorded six birdies in the second round. After an uneven opening nine, the junior challenged herself to capitalize on the opportunities she was creating rather than giving strokes back immediately afterward.

“If you’re making these birdies, you just gotta start making pars afterward,” Zhang recalled telling herself. “You’re capable of actually capitalizing on the opportunities, but you need to actually just lock in after that.”

The tournament was suspended due to darkness before the second round could be completed, leaving Zhang with four holes to finish on Sunday morning before beginning the final round shortly later.

The unusual schedule did little to slow her down.

The Vancouver, B.C., native opened her final round with four birdies in her first five holes, including three consecutive birdies on holes three, four and five. Having already played the same pin locations twice, Zhang said she knew exactly where she wanted to attack.

“I was just kind of in the flow state, honestly,” Zhang said. “I knew what I was doing, I knew what I had to do, and then I was executing on it.”

Zhang finished the final round at two-under 70. Feng, meanwhile, followed her second-round 68 with a three-under 69 to finish alongside her mentor at six-under for the tournament.

Feng said she tries to avoid checking the leaderboard while competing, preferring to take each round “shot by shot.” But knowing Zhang was also contending made the final round different.

“As long as we both play well, I don’t really care how I place compared to her or anything,” Feng said. “I just try and play the best for the team.”

Zhang had a different approach.

“I remember checking the leaderboard around halfway through the round, and I was like, ‘It’s literally just me and Ray out here,’” Zhang said. “We had a little friendly competition going on.”

The pair ultimately separated themselves from the rest of the field. Yale’s freshman Hanny Wang finished third at one-under par, five strokes behind the two Crimson golfers.

Feng led the field with 15 birdies throughout the tournament, while Zhang finished directly behind her with 14. Zhang also led all competitors on par threes at four-under, while Feng posted the tournament’s best par-four score at two-under.

The duo’s performances powered an aggressive weekend for Harvard as a whole. The Crimson recorded a tournament-high 52 birdies, 11 more than Boston College, and played the par-fives at 14-under, seven strokes better than any other team.

Harvard was unable to translate that scoring into the team title, however. After entering the final round trailing Boston College, the Crimson finished at five-over on its final 18 to close the tournament at seven-over. The Eagles held on at six-over despite shooting 14-over in the final round, leaving Harvard just one stroke short of a team victory.

Still, Zhang said the narrow margin demonstrated how far the Crimson has progressed through its first three tournaments.

“We’re definitely a really determined group,” Zhang said. “I think we’ve got a lot of spirit even compared to my last two years, and I think it’s awesome to have a team that’s super hungry to win and that’s getting closer and closer each time.”

For Feng, the victory also marked another milestone in an impressive start to her collegiate career. She has now finished fourth, tied for 14th, and tied for first in her first three tournaments for the Crimson.

The freshman credited her teammates and head coach Naree Song with helping her adjust to collegiate golf, particularly through work on her short game. Off the course, Feng said Harvard’s upperclassmen have helped the team’s three freshmen navigate everything from academics to team norms.

Zhang has found herself on the other side of that transition. Now a junior, she said she has gone from looking to older teammates to understand how the program operates to helping younger golfers navigate their first year at Harvard.

Feng has made that mentorship particularly rewarding.

“She’s super locked in,” Zhang said. “Everything [she does] has a purpose.”

For Feng, the feeling is mutual.

“She’s definitely one of the best mentors ever,” Feng said. “I’m really grateful to have her as a mentor.”

The Crimson will now have a few weeks of rest before closing its fall campaign at the Lady Blue Hen Invitational in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Oct. 24 and 25.

After coming within one stroke of a team victory at Yale, and leaving with two individual champions, Zhang sees the break as an opportunity for Harvard to prepare for one final push.

“We’re happy to have the two weeks of rest and then to get back out there and end the season with a bang,” Zhang asserted.

—Staff writer Tamar H. Scheinfeld can be reached at [email protected].