(Photo credit score: Cincinnati Enquirer-USA TODAY Sports)
Rose Zhang has exceeded the practical expectations for any rookie on the LPGA Tour, profitable her maiden occasion as a professional and occurring to symbolize the United States Solheim Cup group in Spain.
She simply certified for this week’s CME Group Tour Championship, sitting twenty fourth within the standings. She’s alsoa career-best twenty sixth within the Women’s Rolex World Rankings.
But life on the LPGA Tour hasn’t been all flowers for the record-setting newbie star since leaving Stanford within the spring.
“A lot of life lessons thus far,” Zhang, 20, mentioned Wednesday. “I really feel like all I needed was to study what it is like contained in the ropes, discover ways to care for my group, deal with my physique, navigate form of the dynamics of each media and golf.
“So, I’ve been trying to focus on the big picture of everything, and I think that’s kind of the biggest thing. I just want to kind of have fun, build relationships, and ultimately that’s kind of what I did.”
After a blistering begin to her skilled profession that noticed Zhang comply with up a win on the Mizuho America’s Open with three extra top-10s in her subsequent 4 occasions, she hit a little bit of a rut. She didn’t submit a top-25 over her subsequent seven occasions.
That spanned the Solheim Cup, the place Zhang struggled to an 0-2-1 file. That included a 43 singles loss to Leona Maguire because the U.S. didn’t win the Cup again from Europe.
Zhang has rebounded of late, holding the 54-hole lead on the Maybank Championship earlier than settling for a T3 and posting a T15 on the Toto Japan Classic. Overall, she graded her rookie 12 months a “solid B.”
“I just feel like I could have done a lot better in ways of kind of handling myself on tour and I feel like there is always room for improvements,” Zhang mentioned. “When it is ‘A,’ I really feel like all the things is simply very strong, you understand what you are doing.
“As of now I feel like there is still a lot more room to improve on and I think I can do better.”
There’s additionally nonetheless room to enhance on her season grade. This week’s season-ending occasion consists of the highest 60 gamers within the standings, and the $7 million match purse consists of $2 million to the winner.
Zhang additionally mirrored on being on the East Lake Cup with Stanford virtually a 12 months in the past this week, when she determined that she would depart faculty after her sophomore 12 months to pursue her LPGA dream. She conceded that profitable, taking part in on a Solheim Cup group and qualifying for the CME weren’t objectives she imagined carrying out over her first six months as a professional.
“I’m so grateful. Just starting off in June it was kind of my debut and everything followed quickly after, playing all the majors and then getting all those sponsor’s exemptions and not needing those sponsor’s exemptions and playing throughout Asia. It’s been a very busy and fulfilling season,” she mentioned.
“I’m really glad to be here and just being here, being able to compete this week let alone, is already a great achievement for me.”
–Field Level Media