Rose Zhang will play the first two rounds of this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in a marquee group alongside fellow American Lexi Thompson and Australia’s Minjee Lee.
Zhang, 20, is playing in her first major tournament since turning pro and coming off a victory in her LPGA Tour debut at the Mizuho Americas Open earlier this month. The former Stanford star will tee off on the first hole at 8:39 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Thompson, 28, tied for second at last year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, failing to hold a 2-shot lead on Sunday and losing by 1 shot to champion In Gee Chun.
Lee, 27, won the 2021 Evian Championship and the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open and also tied with Thompson 1 shot behind Chun at last year’s Women’s PGA.
Chun will tee off at 8:17 a.m. Thursday, two groups ahead of the other trio alongside American Danielle Kang and Australia’s Hannah Green at Baltusrol Golf Club (lower course) in Springfield, New Jersey.
World No. 1 Jun Young Ko will start her championship in the afternoon wave’s marquee group. The South Korean will begin on the back nine at 2:01 p.m. alongside second-ranked American Nelly Korda and third-ranked Lydia Ko, the New Zealand star who leads the Race to the CME Globe standings.
No. 4-ranked Lilia Vu will also tee…
