China's Zhou 'Bears' His Teeth at Shark's Tooth Golf Club

Lake Powell, Florida, United States: China’s Zhou Ziqin created history with his victory in the 2026 ACC Men's Golf Championship – Stroke Play.

At Shark's Tooth Golf Club, Zhou defeated Americans Edan Cui and Ethan Evans in a sudden-death play-off that required two holes.

While the University of California failed to finish among the top eight at the championship and missed out on advancing to match play, sophomore Zhou won the individual competition for the Bears’ first individual ACC title in history.

“Being the first player to win the ACC Championship for the Bears is an absolute honour,” said Zhou, whose 54-hole total of eight-under 208 was matched by Stanford’s Cui and Duke student Evans.

At the first extra hole, Zhou and Cui made birdies while Evans was eliminated after making a par. Moving on to the par-five 17th it was Zhou who prevailed with a par that Cui was unable to match.

Thanks to his triumph, Zhou has jumped 35 places to 63rd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

Among his previous notable achievements, Zhou was runner-up to compatriot Ding Wenyi in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) in Japan in 2024 and was a member of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation team that defeated their European counterparts to win the Ryder Cup-style team match play Bonallack Trophy in the United Arab Emirates at the start of 2025.

Late last year he represented China at the World Amateur Team Championships for the Eisenhower Trophy in Singapore before going on to place 14th in the AAC at Dubai's Emirates Golf Club.

Zhou is the first Cal golfer to win an individual conference title since Collin Morikawa at the 2019 Pac 12 Championship.

Cal Head Coach Michael Wilson said: “Ziqin becomes just the fifth player in Cal Men’s golf history to win an individual Conference Championship and the first in the ACC. He's worked so hard these past two years and pulled out a really gritty win.

“He started two-over through two holes, but battled back for a two-under-70 to force extra holes. His birdie on the first play-off hole will go down as a legendary putt in Cal Golf to extend the match. He then made a solid par on the second play-off hole to win. We're all so incredibly happy for Ziqin.”

Meanwhile, two Thai females were also savouring success Stateside.

At the Big 12 Women's Golf Championship in Dallas, Texas, Nichakorn Pinprayoon finished level at the top of the leaderboard with France’s Mila Jurine on seven-under-par 209. They were declared joint winners. 

On the back of that performance, Iowa State’s Nichakorn has broken into the top 100 in the WAGR with a 24-ranking rise to 98th.

At Brooksville, Florida, Pimchompoo Chaisilprungruang swept to victory in the 2026 American Conference Women's Championship. The University of Charlotte golfer won by nine shots, returning scores of 71, 67 and 67 for an 11-under 205 aggregate. It’s her second victory in her last three tournaments and sees her climb into the WAGR’s top 70 by advancing six positions to 66th.