LAKE ELMO, Minn. — Sonja Tang dreamed of playing at a Division I school. It’s why she decided to take a leap of faith.
Tang, from Vancouver, Canada, played the first three seasons of her college career at University of British Columbia, an NAIA school not far from home. An opportunity arose last summer for her to make that leap, and she transferred to Oregon.
However, she did so as a walk-on. There wasn’t a scholarship available for her, but it wasn’t going to stop her from chasing a lifelong dream.
On Monday, Tang was the first Oregon player to tee off in its season-opening tournament, the 2024 ANNIKA Intercollegiate at Royal Golf Club outside of Minneapolis. Tang, who played in only one event last year, the Ducks’ home tournament, won the qualifier last week to earn a spot in the lineup, a rarity for a walk-on in today’s climate of college golf.
“I really understood her drive, that she wants to be great,” Oregon coach Derek Radley said of his first interaction with Tang. “I said, it’s going to be tough to make the line up, you know. And she said, ‘Coach, I would just be thankful for the opportunity to be around great players, and hopefully I can get better each and every day, and I’m going to do everything I can to help this team.’
“How you say no to that?”
Tong shot 5-over 77 on Monday, a three-hole stretch on the back nine undoing what otherwise was a solid day at Royal Golf Club. She was Oregon’s drop score, but that’s far from anything that matters in a season-opening tournament.
The highlight of her day was a birdie on the closing par-5 18th.
“It was a tough back nine,” Tang said. “I misjudged a couple of pin positions, and then I ended up in pretty tricky positions. But I think finishing with a birdie was pretty cool.”
Oregon’s qualifying process is similar to most schools, where a couple of spots are up for grabs after the qualifier while the rest are coaches’ picks. And the finish was worth a start in the season-opening event.
Tang buried a 40-footer for par on the 16th hole before chipping in for birdie on the 17th to take the lead from Karen Tsuru. She held on, and she was in the lineup.
Left at home for the opener was Tiffany Huang, who was a major part of the lineup last season on a Ducks’ team that made the semifinals at the NCAA Championship.
However, the support from Tang’s teammates was cause for celebration.
“They were jumping up and down and hugging on her, you know, because she’s so nice and cares about everybody, and it was pretty special for her to have this opportunity,” Radley said.
Oregon sits in fifth as a team after the opening round, 14 shots behind co-leaders Wake Forest and South Carolina, the defending champion. Duke sophomore Katie Li fired an opening 6-under 66, including an eagle on the par-5 second, and leads by one over a big pack at 5 under.
A member from the winning team at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate will earn an exemption into the LPGA’s The ANNIKA in November.