Former Stanford star Rose Zhang posts solid start in LPGA Tour debut at Liberty National

Former Stanford star Rose Zhang officially made her LPGA Tour debut on Thursday at Liberty National Golf Course, just days after the 20-year-old turned professional.

While her round wasn’t outstanding by any means, she posted a 2-under 70 to kick off the Mizuho Americas Open in New Jersey, Zhang was excited walking off the course with her first professional round under her belt.

“I think it's great that I started a little bit early. That really settled the nerves a little bit, just because you wake up and then you start your prep work,” she said after the round.

“But for me, I was just going out there and trying to shoot my best score. There was a lot happening the last couple days, so I really wanted to put myself in position to where I can just go out there, play some golf, and see what I can do.”

Zhang is perhaps the best women's amateur golfer in history. The Irvine, California, native was the first woman to ever win back-to-back NCAA titles at Stanford, and set the single-season scoring record twice. She held a 69.42 scoring average in 62 rounds, and won 12 of the 20 college tournaments she played in. Tiger Woods only won 11 times in his 26 starts at Stanford.

Zhang was ranked No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings for a record 141 consecutive weeks dating back to September 2020. She made the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2019, when she was just 16 years old, and finished 11th at the 2020 ANA Inspiration, which is one of the five LPGA major championships.

Even though all eyes are on her now that she’s going to be a regular on Tour, Zhang isn’t bothered by the expectations.

“I just genuinely think there are people around me who treat me very normal, treat me as I am, and that keeps me grounded,” she said. “I have a very great support system around me, and that enables me to just do what I'm doing. I don't really have to think about other people's expectations. Like I said before, I think of it as a compliment that they think I'm capable of more.

“But on the overall level, I think I have people that just want me to do the best I can and they push me to be better.”

Zhang got off to a great start on Thursday and had several big moments in her round. She made three birdies in her first six holes, and then chipped-in on the 13th.

After that chip-in, though, Zhang bogeyed on back-to-back holes. A birdie at the last got her to 2-under on the day, and even on the back nine. She’ll enter Friday five shots back of early leader Lauren Hartlage, who shot a career-low 65.

“This was definitely a round that could have been better, and that kind of gets me excited to work on more and to develop my game even further,” Zhang said.

“I felt like I left a couple shots out there, and I think there is a lot of room for improvement. So I'm excited to keep working and keep playing to see how far I can bring my game to.”

Zhang will kick off the second round on Friday afternoon alongside Chella Choi and Alison Lee. Choi is also at 2-under after her opening round, and Lee is two shots back at even par.