“I’m a very outgoing, talkative person,” said two-time state champion Reagan Zibilski, “So, it takes me a lot of extra time to warm up because I’m always talking to everybody.”
That explains why the Springfield Catholic grad says this is her favorite part about qualifying for the Women’s Amateur Golf Championships next month. “All my friends are qualifying,” she said. “All my friends from all around, they’ve all qualified too. So I’m going to get to see them for one last hurrah before college.”
It’s the first time Reagan’s qualified for the premier amateur event. In fact, she actually qualified for the pro championships first, playing in the Women’s US Open two years ago. That forced her to skip two years of amateur play. But it’s in that pro event that she realized she belongs in the professional ranks too.
“Yeah, I think when I got there I did,” said Reagan. “Because I wasn’t super nervous in the beginning and then I saw Nelly Korda, and all those great golfers, I was like, ‘Wow, I’m actually there. I can compete with these people.'”
Korda is seven-time LPGA Tour winner. Rick Neal, Director of Golf at Hickory Hills Country Club where Reagan typically trains, remembers when he first knew Reagan could compete with players like that.
“The very first time I ever saw her hit a golf ball,” said Gallant. “In my business, I don’t think I’ve seen this come along very often. Someone like Reagan. I would bet over the last ten years I’ve seen three or four people with this kind of talent. And I knew that she had it.”
After the championships, she’ll fulfill another lifelong dream to play college golf at Arkansas. She says the lessons she learned here at Catholic will come in handy. “The qualities of being on a team,” said Reagan. “You’re playing for yourself. But you’re also playing for four or five girls. From being a freshman to being a senior. Just growing as a person.”
The US Women’s Amateur Championship begins August 8th in Chamber’s Bay, Washington.
