University of Michigan men’s golf coach Zach Barlow announced the signings of Hunter Thomson (Calgary, Alberta), Bavake Sihota (Caledon, Ontario) and Yuqi Liu (Beijing, China) – to National Letters of Intent for fall 2021.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Thomson — who is ranked as the No. 1 junior in Canada and No. 9 overall for the Class of 2021 on the Junior Golf Scoreboard — has shined throughout his junior amateur career in Canada. Finishing among the top–3 in four of his five 2020 events, he posted individual wins at the Alberta Junior Boys Championship (66-66-69/201) and at the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) Ford Series PGA of Alberta Junior Championship (74-67-65/206).
“Hunter has established himself as one of the top players in junior golf, and his record speaks for itself,” Barlow said. “What’s even more exciting is his drive to compete and win at the collegiate level.”
A native of Caledon, Ontario, Sihota played his junior golf on the Canadian Junior Golf Association circuit. He highlighted 2020 finishing 15th at the Florida Azalea Amateur (71-72-71/214). He posted 10 top-15 finishes during 2019, showcased by a 10-shot win at the Canadian Junior Golf Association (CJGA) Mizuno National Championship (67-74-73-72/286). He highlighted his 2018 season winning the CJGA Eastern Canadian Junior Championship (74-66-70/210).
Barlow: “Bavake brings a wealth of experience on both the junior and amateur golf scene. He is such and down-to-earth person that he really will be a quality fit for us. His work ethic and refuse-to-lose attitude was something that stood out to us in our evaluation process.”
Originally from Beijing, China, Liu has grown up in Canada and attends Westmount Collegiate College (Thornhill, Ontario). This year, Liu had three 3-place finishes — at the New Year’s Invitational (75-66-72/213) in Florida, the Golf Ontario Junior Boys Championship (68-71-69-81/289) and at the Toronto Players Professional Tour (71-69/140) stop on Aug. 24-25.
“Yuqi has put together a very impressive golf resume — here and internationally,” Barlow said. “To say Yuqi is very talented would be an understatement. His ceiling is so high, and we truly believe the sky is the limit.”
