A dream come true: Young Fripp Island golf tournament champ gets his PGA Tour shot

A Fripp Island golf course with views of the Atlantic Ocean was the site of a two-day tournament this week in which Division II college players competed for the first time for a chance to play in the big leagues: a PGA Tour event.

Drew Zielinski, from Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., captured the inaugural Fripp Island to Bermuda Invite title, which was contested Monday and Tuesday on Ocean Point Golf Links.

With the win, Zielinksi became the first Division II golf to earn a PGA Tour exemption.

Zielinski now gets to play with professional golfers at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship Nov. 13-16.

“This is a dream come true,” Zielinski said in a news release.

With a final round score of 66, Zielinski was nine under par over three rounds and two strokes ahead of Lee University teammate Bennett McNabb, who placed second.

Golfweek served as the tournament host of the first-of-its-kind event that brought the top Division II men’s golf programs to Fripp Island Golf and Beach Resort for a chance at history.

The two-day tournament began on Monday as 15 teams battled for the team title. Lee University finished atop the team standings with a total score of 839, twenty-five under par. Georgia Southwestern came in second with a total score of 857, seven-under par and Florida Southern finished in third place with a score of 862, two-under par.

The tournament marks the one-year anniversary of a multi-million-dollar renovation of the George Cobb-designed Ocean Point Golf Links, which opened for play in 1964.

Seascape Hospitality Group purchased the Golf and Beach Resort on the barrier island in January 2023 for more than $20 million. The resort operates island amenities such as tennis and pickleball courts, a marina, pools, restaurants and a nature center and Ocean Point and a second 18-hole golf course.

The Fripp Island to Bermuda Invite is the first of two collegiate tournaments to be played this fall at the gated community 20 miles east of Beaufort. The Fripp Island Intercollegiate, hosted by USC Upstate, returns to Ocean Creek for the third year Nov. 1-3.

Karl Puckett

The Island Packet

843-256-3420

Karl Puckett covers the city of Beaufort, town of Port Royal and other communities north of the Broad River for The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet. The Minnesota native also has worked at newspapers in his home state, Alaska, Wisconsin and Montana.