Rose Zhang Facts: 25 Things To Know About LPGA Tour Star
Here are 25 facts you may not be familiar with about the amateur sensation who is now making waves in the professional game
Rose Zhang had a glittering amateur career at Stanford before turning pro after her 20th birthday and winning in her first ever start on the LPGA Tour.
Get to know the rising star better with these facts about her life and incredible career so far...
Rose Zhang facts:
1. Rose Zhang was born in Arcadia, Los Angeles, California, on 24 May 2003.
2. She has one sibling, brother Bill, who was born in 1993.
3. Zhang began playing golf aged nine after a family friend brought over some clubs for her dad, Haibin. Curious, she picked up one of the clubs and took some swings in her backyard. She hit the ball flush on her third attempt. At that point, her dad arranged lessons for her.
4. Her smooth, repeatable swing is one of her biggest attributes, and she has worked with swing coach George Pinnell since the age of around 11.
5. She represented the USA at the 2019 Junior Solheim Cup.
Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
6. Zhang was named Girls Rolex Junior Player of the Year in 2019. The year after, she was handed the honor again.
7. Zhang competed in the 2019 US Women’s Open, aged 16. She finished tied for 40th.
8. Like Michelle Wie-West, Tiger Woods and Tom Watson before her, she studied at Stanford University.
9. Stanford head coach Anne Walker once described her as “the Mozart of golf, the Van Gogh of golf.”
10. She broke Wie-West’s scoring record to finish as Low Amateur at the 2020 ANA Inspiration (now The Chevron Championship).
11. She won Mark H McCormack Medals for top world amateur golfer three times in succession between 2020 and 2022.
12. Zhang represented Team USA in the 2021 and 2022 Curtis Cup.
13. She set the Pebble Beach women’s course record with nine-under in the second round of the 2022 Carmel Cup.
14. In 2022, she became the first student athlete to sign deals with Callaway Golf and Adidas.
15. She won the low amateur honors at the 2022 AIG Women's Open.
16. In May 2023, Zhang won the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship, surpassing the number of wins Tiger Woods achieved as a Stanford University golfer, with 12.
17. At the same time, she became the first player to win two NCAA individual titles.
18. Zhang set the record for consecutive weeks at the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking in April 2023, surpassing Leona Maguire’s 135 weeks. By the time she ended her amateur career, it had stretched to 141 weeks.
19. She won the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
20. Zhang cites her dad as one of her greatest influences, and he has also caddied for her extensively, including in her win at Augusta National.
21. Nine days after turning pro, she won the Mizuho Americas Open to become the first woman to win an LPGA Tour title on her professional debut since Beverly Hanson in 1951.
22. She qualified for her Solheim Cup debut in 2023 at Spain's Finca Cortesin.
23. Less than a year after turning pro, Zhang won her second professional title at the 2024 Cognizant Founders Cup. She shot four rounds in the 60s for the first time in her pro career and a set a new tournament scoring record of 24-under-par.
24. Zhang qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
25. Her best Major finish is a T8th at the 2023 KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
Born | May 24 2003, Arcadia, California |
College | Stanford University |
Turned pro | 2023 |
Current tour | LPGA Tour |
LPGA wins | 2 |
2023 Mizuho Americas Open | -9 (playoff) |
2024 Cognizant Founders Cup | -24 (2 strokes) |
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
- Elliott HeathNews Editor
-
'Ryder Cup, Let's Go!' - Matt Wallace Gives Emotional Interview After Omega European Masters Victory
Following a dramatic playoff victory at the Omega European Masters, the Englishman gave an emotional interview following his first win on the DP World Tour since 2018
By Matt Cradock Published
-
Matt Wallace Recovers From Losing Four-Stroke Lead To Win Omega European Masters Title In Playoff
Matt Wallace claimed his first DP World Tour title in six years after playoff success over Alfredo Garcia-Heredia
By Jonny Leighfield Last updated
-
Andrew 'Beef' Johnston Facts: 20 Things You Didn't Know About The English Golfer
Discover more about Andrew Johnston - commonly known as 'Beef' - via these facts about his life and career so far...
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Cedric Gugler Facts: 8 Things You Didn't Know About The Swiss Golfer
Get to know Challenge and DP World Tour player, Cedric Gugler, with these eight facts
By Matt Cradock Published
-
Jordan Smith Facts: 15 Things You Didn't Know About The DP World Tour Pro
Jordan Smith took up golf late, but he soon made up for lost time with a rapid rise to prominence - here are 15 things you may not know about the DP World Tour pro
By Mike Hall Published
-
Alfredo Garcia-Heredia Facts: 14 Things You Didn't Know About The Spanish Golfer
Get to know experienced DP World Tour player, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, a little bit better with these 14 facts
By Matt Cradock Published
-
Alison Lee What's In The Bag?
We take a look into the bag of former amateur world number one Alison Lee...
By Sam De'Ath Published
-
Alex Fitzpatrick Facts: 20 Things To Know About The English Golfer
Wake Forest alumnus Alex Fitzpatrick is carving out a successful career in Europe. Get to know him better with these facts...
By Elliott Heath Published
-
Lauren Coughlin What's In The Bag?
We take a look into the bag of two-time LPGA Tour champion Lauren Coughlin
By Sam De'Ath Published
-
Albane Valenzuela What's In The Bag?
We take a look inside the bag of the American-born Swiss golfer making her Solheim Cup debut in Virginia...
By Joe Ferguson Published