At the age of 20, she is already one of the headliners in women's world golf. However, Rose Zhang has built her career one step at a time, being guided by the opportunities her talent and daily practice have brought her. The journey has seen many successes and a few defeats, the chance to forge the character of the immense champion she has become. The general public discovered her on a weekend in September 2020 when she finished 11th at the ANA Inspiration, her second time competing at a major. Since then, the small seed has grown, then blossomed. One is not born a rose, but becomes one. She is no longer only a player who is learning, she is also one who is admired.

The story behind the phenomenon

Born in California, where she still lives, it is aged 9 that young Rose Zhang discovers the joys of golf. Very early on, she is one of the best players in her age group and seems destined for a bright future. The protégé of George Pinnell, to whom she has entrusted her swing since the age of 11, notches up the victories to make it to the highest step of the amateur world rankings. This dazzling rise means she is soon being talked about, to the point of being invited by the Augusta National for the first edition of the Women's Amateur in 2019. She finished the week in Georgia with a fantastic 17th place, making it another step closer to the very top level and showing, as is customary, the extent of her talent. But a significant victory was still needed to confirm all the hopes placed upon her, the victory that would elevate her to the rank of a world class player.

Summer 2020, the seal of approval

Named Girls Rolex Junior Player of the Year 2019, she suffered as everyone did from the consequences of the world health crisis early 2020. With competitions cancelled one after the other, she buried herself in her work before returning to center stage. Summer arrived and with it the US Women’s Amateur, an unmissable event on the calendar. Having been bothered by a slight pain in her left wrist for several weeks, she nevertheless decided to compete in the event. And the rest you know, as we talked about it last year in an article still available on our website. Two rounds of 74 (+2) and then 71 (-1) in stroke play granted her access to the final stages, which she won after much suspense, defeating the Australian Gabriela Ruffels, after a marathon 36-hole final. This victory is the first act of the Rose Zhang era in women's world golf.

Onwards and upwards

A few weeks later, she secured the position of the number 1 amateur thanks to a memorable 11th place at the ANA Inspiration 2020, her second appearance in a major championship. The trend was confirmed: the USA had found in Rose Zhang a new author to write their history. For the time being, the adventure continued among the amateurs. 2021 and 2022 continued to see her gain momentum. She won the US Girls Junior and the NCAA Championship in the individual and team events, with bewildering ease. The generally so temperamental little white ball unflinchingly responded to what the player, who was in charge of its travel itinerary, asked of it. Four years after her first participation in the Augusta National Women's Amateur, which we spoke of just above, she was victorious in April after two holes of a play-off. After an unbearable suspense, Georgia crowned a new queen. Rose Zhang was following in the footsteps of a certain Tiger Woods, five-times Augusta winner, and then decided to turn pro at the age of 20, as the Tiger did in his day.

As soon as she arrived on the LPGA Tour, after dominating the amateur tour for 141 weeks - an all-time record - she had her first win in her first week as a professional player at the Mizuho Americas Open, pushing aside another American in the play-off, the experienced and major winner Jennifer Kupcho. After her 8th place at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship 2023, here she is ready to take on The Champions Course once again, a course she knows only too well, having taken her first steps here in 2017 for the Juniors Cup. The message has been heard, Rose Zhang is on the war path, her opponents have been warned.