On Thursday, March 12, Villanova’s golf team traveled to St. Simon’s Island, GA, for its second tournament of the spring season, the People’s Championship. The three-day tournament was hosted by Western Carolina University and consisted of 21 teams, including two teams from the Big East, aside from Villanova.
In last season’s People’s Championship, the Wildcats finished fourth out of 20 teams. Sophomore Vibhav Alokam had tied for sixth place, while seniors Ryan Pamer and Matt Zerfass followed, both finishing in the top 40. This year, the ‘Cats finished tied for fifth.
Following the first round of the tournament on Thursday, Villanova was in fourth place, after shooting 279 (- 5) as a team. The leader on the day was Pamer, who shot 67 (-4), good for a tie for fourth place overall. His fellow captain, Zerfass, shot 68 (-3) and finished tied for eighth.
Fifth-year Brockton English finished even on the day, while Alokam followed, shooting 73 (+2).
On day two of the tournament, Villanova dropped one spot to fifth place.
The Wildcats shot 279 (+6) on the round, and shot 569 (+1) through the first two days of the tournament. Zerfass led the way, shooting 70 (-1) on Friday, making his tournament total 138 (minus 4). He tied for sixth place. Palmer shot 72 (+1) on the day, making his total 139 (minus 3), which put him tied for 10th.
After the third and final day of the tournament, the ‘Cats finished tied for fifth place overall. Villanova had a strong bounce-back round from Friday. The team shot 852 (E) in the tournament and improved their score by seven strokes from round two to round three, after they shot 283 (minus 1) in the final round on Saturday.
“The third round is definitely set up for scoring,” head coach James Wilkes said. “We had a lot of birdies in that final round, which was great, and we were aware that there was going to be pressure down the stretch, and the fact that we just played some really difficult holes at the end and played those well, that allowed us to keep us where we were.”
Pamer led the way for the Wildcats through the three rounds of tournament play. He finished shooting 210 (-4), which allowed him to tie for 12th. Pamer shot 71 (E) on the final day, while Zerfass just trailed, tied for 16th, shooting 212 (minus 1) in the three days and 74 (+3) on the last one.
Alokam finished tied for 25th after he shot his best round of the weekend on Saturday, 69 (minus 2), a Villanova best.
“Vibhav, he is the next one,” Wilkes said. “He has everything that we will need going forward as an underclassman. He has played every event and has been right there soaking in everything that Pamer and Zerfass have been able to try and teach him. [Alokam] is just such a steady, cool player. He’s very calm, he understands, he doesn’t get high, doesn’t get low and he just knows what it takes and he knows we’re going to need him going forward with so many guys graduating.”
Big East foe Xavier took home the 2026 People’s Championship. The Musketeers shot 838 (minus 14) as a team throughout the tournament. Freshman Cayse Morgan of Xavier finished at the top of the individual leaderboard, shooting 202 (minus 11) over the course of three days.
Host team Western Carolina finished second, shooting 840 (minus 12) as a team. Samford followed in third, shooting 842 (minus 10).
“We’re just gonna keep focusing on what we’ve been doing, what we preach and that’s attitude,” Wilkes said. “This was a great week because to see that preparation, give us the results that we were hoping for and be able to hold our own position. Xavier is gonna be a contender for the Big East title. They’ve won multiple tournaments this year, and they’re just a really well-coached, really strong team. We understand and we respect how good the Big East conference is, and we just need to keep doing what we’re doing to be ready for May, for the Big East Championship.”
Villanova’s golf team will continue its campaign next Monday, March 23, when it will travel to Williamsburg, VA. The Wildcats will compete in the two-day Horseshoe Intercollegiate, hosted by William & Mary at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club.
