Rose Zhang is an American Golfer and a defending champion. Recently, she pulled out of the Mizuho Americas Open after just three holes.
Who is Rose Zhang?
Rose Zhang, born on May 24th, 2003, is a professional American Golfer. She became the first woman to win the individual championship twice when she won the NCAA Division I Championships in 2022 and 2023, in addition to the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
She participated in the 2019 Pan American Games and the U.S. Women’s Open. She also won a gold medal there. She became the first golfer to win on the LPGA Tour in her professional debut since 1951, less than two weeks after she became a pro.
Rose Zhang – Career Overview
| Rookie year | 2023 |
| Age | 20 |
| Race to CME points | 765.750 |
| Rolex ranking | 6 |
| Race to CME globe ranking | 9 |
| Career earnings | $1,997,891 |
| Career top 10s | 7 |
| Career victories | 2 |
| Year to end earnings | $608,907 |
| Year to date top 10s | 3 |
| Year to date victories | 1 |
Why Did Rose Pull Out from the Mizuho Americas Open?
Seven people, including Rose, pulled out from the Mizuho Americas Open because of their illnesses. The LPGA tour is monitoring the situation when the star defending champion pulled after three holes.
On a social media platform, Zhang said, “I am really disappointed that I had to withdraw from the Mizuho Americas Open today.” “This tournament holds a special place in my heart, having had such an amazing week last year when I captured my first LPGA Tour win here at Liberty National. I was really looking forward to trying to defend my title, but unfortunately spent the last 12 hours with really bad intestinal pain.”
Rose has been an LPGA champion twice, including when for the first time as an amateur last year. She was even the Cognizant Founders Cup winner earlier in this season. There was no way she would have withdrawn from the competition.
Zhang teed off soon before eight on the back nine at Liberty National. No. 10 was par, No. 11 was a double bogey, and No. 12 was par. Driven back to the clubhouse, she left playing companions Lydia Ko and Albane Valenzuela on the par-5 13th hole’s tee box. Zhang’s Excel Sports Management representative, Kevin Hopkins, stated that although the two-time NCAA champion felt good all week, she had an upset stomach on Thursday morning.
How Much Did Rose Make in the Cognizant Founders Cup?
Rose Zhang and Madelene Sagstrom pulled away from the pack at the Cognizant Founders Cup, with Zhang coming out on top. Zhang accepted the $450,000 winner’s prize for her second career LPGA victory.
Zhang and Her Stanford Course
Rose Zhang took a ten-week Stanford on-campus course early in 2024. Like her close confidante and role model Michelle Wie West, Zhang committed to completing her degree in communications when she became professional following two spectacular undergraduate seasons for the Cardinal.
She said in an interview, “I’m taking a stats class, so I had to finish last night at around 12:30. This morning was a very early pro-am time, so I didn’t have too much time to rest.” Being the world’s top-ranked female golfer while attending Stanford is a significant task, but Zhang can handle it. Exhibit A: Zhang shot a 3-under 69 on Thursday to tie for sixth place amid a group of seasoned champions during the first round of play.
Overall, Zhang is enthusiastic about the variety of topics she will be studying this winter. She is enrolled in political science, media psychology, and, oddly, a journalism class in addition to statistics. Zhang explained the journalism curriculum to a Lake Nona Golf Course group, probably heritage sports media writers.
She said, “We’re supposed to create some beat memos where we’re trying to build a couple stories that we want to cover in these 10 weeks that I’m taking the class.” “I think I’m going to do something around Stanford athletics. Right now it’s all brainstorming, but getting started in terms of how to interview people and how to write good articles that people want to read objectively.”
Zhang is ahead of the game on that project, even if she may not realize it. She has a lot of experience developing her athletic narrative. Zhang realized she had done too much in 2023 and used the offseason to change her goals and objectives for 2024 significantly. Zhang didn’t feel at her best despite having an incredibly successful rookie season on the Tour, winning her LPGA debut and placing in the top 10 in three of her four significant events.
Zhang was going through some health-related issues. The native of Southern California disclosed on Wednesday that she has been working with a dietitian lately to eliminate meals that have been detrimental to her performance. However, Zhang thought that his first year on the Tour was a “rush,” and not in a pleasant sense.
“I think the biggest thing about last year, my little rookie season, was just to not pile so much on my plate,” Zhang said. “It’s been a lot that’s happened, and I feel like I continuously will have a lot that’s going to be happening. It’s almost like every single day, almost like I’m in a rush to complete a lot of things. Balancing everything and being able to handle all the attention as well.”
So why return to school? As it turns out, Zhang’s Stanford education has the opposite impact on her. Zhang finds inspiration in the academic focus and on-campus pace, and enrolling in all the courses offered this winter quarter may boost her performance. Zhang also benefits from complete access to Stanford’s cutting-edge practice facilities, which are always bustling with currently enrolled top players.
“Everyone is busy, no matter what you’re doing, everyone has their own schedules. You’re kind of just a fish in the sea where you can do whatever you want and you prioritize your own kind of needs and responsibilities,” Zhang said.