With final exams behind her, Rose Zhang readies for her next big test – Baltusrol, site of her first major as a professional
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Stacy Lewis didn’t want to pile on to the craziness that followed Rose Zhang’s breakout victory earlier this month, but the U.S. Solheim Cup captain had one request for the rookie this week: She needed her to try on clothes.
Lewis was eyeing Zhang for the 2024 Solheim Cup team, knowing that she’d need to win on the LPGA to be eligible for this year’s event in Spain. Needless to say, she’s following Zhang a little more closely now.
“I’d love for her to make it on her own,” said Lewis, “and take the decision out of my hands.”
Zhang, 20, makes her major debut as a professional at this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and comes to Baltusrol hot off a slate of final exams at Stanford. The computer science class that’s been giving her fits all quarter was the toughest.
“Once I came back, I just felt all the – I don’t know, I was stressed about it, but at the same time, I wasn’t stressed because I honestly couldn’t care at that point about what my grades were,” Zhang told a packed press conference area on the eve of the championship.
“As long as I passed the class, as long as I completed what I needed to, I was pretty much done with sophomore year.”
Rose Zhang of the United States walks with her caddie up the 18th hole during a practice round prior to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club on June 21, 2023, in Springfield, New Jersey. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Zhang won the Mizuho Americas Open earlier this month in her professional debut, becoming the first player to win an LPGA event in her pro start since Beverly Hanson in 1951. It’s been a whirlwind since, with Zhang embarking on a media tour in New York City before heading back to Palo Alto where her non-golf friends helped keep life in perspective.
“Once I got back on campus, all my friends were like, ‘Yo, congrats,’ ” said Zhang. “After that, we spent time just talking about random things and how they have been surviving campus life.”
The first time Lewis captained Zhang was a couple years ago at the Spirit International in Texas. Zhang shot 10 under that week to win the individual title.
“And if you had watched her play,” said Lewis, “you’d probably say she played bad. It was very impressive with her demeanor and the way she carries herself.”
After Zhang met with media in the flash area, she headed over to Golf Channel’s onsite set where she humbly declared that her goal this week was to make the cut. She said something similar at Mizuho. Before leaving the set, she made sure to compliment analysts Amanda Blumenherst and Paige Mackenzie on their playing careers.
In the days leading up to the KPMG, Zhang spent time at home playing with her 2 ½-year-old niece, who has no idea, of course, that her aunt now has a grown-up job and is a rising star in women’s sport.
The biggest adjustment, so far, she said would be that she hasn’t been able to work on her game as much as she did as an amateur. Zhang’s daily grind at Stanford was legendary.
“I feel like as an amateur, you take it for granted,” she said, “where you can just be out on the range, no one is talking to you. You can hit balls for like four hours. You can chip, putt, do whatever you need to.
“But I can’t really do that anymore.”
Few in the game know what it’s like to play under the microscope at a young age more than Lydia Ko, though the Kiwi’s path to the LPGA was decidedly different, winning on the tour as an amateur at the age of 15 and turning professional at 16 – by then a two-time winner on the LPGA.
“I think you guys like to talk about first this, last this, this-this,” Ko told the media. “There’s always titles.”
The 26-year-old 19-time LPGA winner noted that she and Zhang are really not that far apart in age – six years – though she wonders if people think she’s 35 by now.
“She’s a very special player,” said Ko. “I don’t think you need me to say she’s special … her accolades and everything speak for itself.”
