Golfer Daniel Zou swings to victory

Freshman golfer Daniel Zou watches a ball after he swings.

Courtesy Rice Athletics

By Evie Vu 10/8/24 11:04pm

Freshman golfer Daniel Zou tied for first place at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic Oct. 1 in only his third tournament as an Owl. Though Sam Houston State University took home the team trophy, Zou and Rice junior Lukas Boandl tied with Louisiana State University’s Noah McWilliams for the individual first place title with a three-day score of 12 under par.

Zou was ranked in the top 25 in the nation and top five in the state as a college recruit during his high school career in The Woodlands, Texas. Living nearby, he said, allowed Zou to bond with his fellow golfers from a young age.

Zou said he committed to playing for Rice primarily because of his existing friendships with his teammates, as well as the mix of academics and sports.

“I love all the guys on the team,” Zou said. “[I’ve known them] basically my entire life since I was maybe five or six [years old]. I have grown really close to them and treat them like my family.”

Since coming to campus, Zou said he has noticed a big difference between junior and college golf. The courses play longer, the pin placements are more difficult and the other players are significantly better, he said. Despite this, he says he likes the change.

“I really enjoy the increased level of competition, and it makes me want to better myself for the future,” Zou said.

Zou said he has a lifelong dream to golf professionally after college, and he hopes that performing well during his college career will allow him to pursue that.

Head coach Justin Emil said Zou is a high potential player.

“He doesn’t overcomplicate things on the golf course,” Emil said. “He’s very talented, very athletic and just an impressive player for sure.”

Emil said that besides Zou’s ability to make smart decisions while playing, his biggest advantage is his strength in driving the ball.

“I try to pride myself on my driver,” Zou said. “I keep it in place and the majority of the time I feel like my distance has also been really, really helpful.”

Zou said he also is not afraid to take big risks. The week before his Oct 1. win, Zou changed his putting technique. The new technique, called broom putting, uses a longer putter to increase accuracy and consistency.

Looking at the future of his college career, Zou said he has set some concrete goals to build off of his first win.

“I always just keep it rolling,” Zou said. “It’s a great start to my freshman year.”

Along with another individual win, Zou said he wants to contribute to a team win overall and to break the top 150 individual collegiate rankings.

Emil said he thinks Zou has the potential to go far in his career at Rice and beyond, just as Zou hopes for himself.

“Daniel has the opportunity to make a really big stamp on the program, leave a strong legacy, you know, accomplish a lot of things,” Emil said. “I just want this experience to help him become more of a complete player. I think he’s got a very high ceiling.”