Rose Zhang has beaten history so regularly it’s time to stop taking bets when they face off.
She is the only woman to spend 141 weeks as the world’s top-ranked amateur golfer, the only person regardless of gender to post 12 career victories at Stanford, the only woman to win multiple NCAA Division I titles, and on Sunday she became the first woman in 72 years to win her pro debut.
She carried the weight of incalculable expectations on her shoulders entering the Mizuho Americas Open in Jersey City, N.J., yet built a two-stroke lead through three rounds and then held off Jennifer Kupcho in a two-hole playoff. As notable as the outcome was, so too was the manner in which it was achieved.
Zhang prevailed two months after winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, roughly two weeks after earning her second NCAA title, 11 days after celebrating her 20th birthday, and nine days after turning pro. She prevailed against a field that featured seven top-10 opponents and a public that seemed to salivate at the possibility of what could be.
Even before teeing off for the final round, the Southern California native was being hailed as someone who had already arrived. Golf Channel commentator Brandel Chamblee did not hide his excitement, saying, “The hype comes with the greatness….
