Zhang Leads Harvard Women’s Golf to Fourth-Place Finish at Princeton Invitational

The Harvard women’s golf team continued its fall season with a fourth-place finish at the Princeton Invitational, navigating difficult conditions over two rounds at Springdale Golf Club in Princeton, N.J.

The Crimson finished the weekend at 24-over par, just two strokes behind third-place Rutgers. The host, Princeton, captured the tournament title with its score of two-over par, finishing 10 strokes ahead of runner-up Penn at 12-over par. Columbia rounded out the top five at 31-over par.

Harvard opened the tournament with a 14-over first round before improving by four strokes on Sunday, with a 10-over second round to secure fourth place in the 12-team field.

Junior Vanessa Zhang led the way for the Crimson, finishing sixth individually with her score of one over par. Zhang wrapped up the tournament with rounds of 72 (+1) and 71 (E), finishing just three strokes behind co-champions senior Emily James of Rutgers and freshman Juliet Oh of Penn, who each ended the tournament at two-under par.

Zhang was particularly consistent for Harvard across the weekend. The junior recorded just two bogeys in her opening round while adding a birdie on the par-four eighth hole. She improved to even par in the second round, closing the tournament with a bogey-free back nine that was punctuated by birdies on holes 11 and 18.

The sixth-place individual finish marked another strong result for Zhang, who finished tied for 15th at the Nittany Lion Invitational earlier this month. The 2025 Ivy League Individual Champion and two-time NCAA Regional qualifier has now finished inside the top 15 in each of Harvard’s fall tournaments.

Senior Bonnie Zhai and freshman Rayee Feng finished tied for 14th at seven-over par. Zhai opened with a two-over 73, highlighted by three birdies, including consecutive birdies on the seventh and eighth holes. She followed with a five-over 76 in the second round.

Feng, meanwhile, followed up her fourth-place collegiate debut at the Nittany Lion Invitational with another top-15 finish. After opening with a four-over 75, she improved by one stroke in the final round with a three-over 74.

Freshman Daniela Paez finished tied for 19th at nine-over, rebounding from a seven-over 78 in the opening round with a two-over 73 on Sunday. Paez made her biggest move late, recording three birdies on the back nine, including consecutive birdies on holes 17 and 18 to close the tournament.

Junior Lucy Yuan finished tied for 47th at 17-over par after recording rounds of 78 and 81, while freshman Katrina Bulkovska rounded out Harvard’s individual competitors in 64th at 23-over par with rounds of 82 and 83.

While the Crimson did not match the scoring pace it established in its season-opening 11-under performance at Penn State, it found success through its steady play. Harvard led the entire tournament with 131 pars across the two rounds, four more than second-place Rutgers. Zhang led that effort individually, recording 28 pars to tie for the most of any golfer in the field.

The Crimson also had success on the course’s par threes and par fives. Harvard played the par threes at 15-over par with a 3.31 scoring average, tying with Dartmouth for second place, and finishing second on the par fives at two-over par with a 5.06 average. Princeton led both categories.

The Crimson struggled more on the par fours, finishing at 47-over par with a 4.36 scoring average, fifth-best in the tournament. Harvard recorded 18 birdies over the weekend, including 11 in the final round, while leading the tournament with 131 pars.

The fourth-place finish marks Harvard’s second straight top-four result as it begins the fall campaign after tying for third at the Nittany Lion Invitational. Zhang and Feng have also each recorded two straight top-15 individual finishes, giving the Crimson consistency near the top of its lineup as the season progresses.

Harvard will return to competition next weekend at the Yale Invitational in New Haven, Conn., from Oct. 3-4, looking to match the men’s team’s first-place finish at Yale Golf Course this last weekend.

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