Rose Zhang wasted no time on the LPGA Tour.
Although she didn’t have her best run on Sunday, Zhang more than responded to the fashion in her first pro start in New Jersey.
Zhang, arguably the best female amateur golfer in history, won the Mizuho Americas Open on Sunday afternoon at Liberty National Golf Club. The 20-year-old former Stanford star posted a 2-of-74 score in the final round on Sunday and beat Jennifer Kupcho in the playoffs to win on her professional debut.
” What is going on ? I can’t believe it,” Zhang told Golf Channel. “It was last week when I won the NCAA with my teammates, and going pro and coming here is just amazing. I enjoyed the trip…I had so many cheers around me, all my friends and family. I am so grateful.
Zhang is now the first person to win on the Tour while making her professional debut since Beverley Hanson in 1951, and the first to win in her first LPGA start since 2019. She is the first to win the individual title of the NCAA Division I and win on the LPGA Tour in the same season, which she did in just two weeks. The win also gives Zhang automatic Tour membership.
Zhang entered Sunday with a one-stroke lead, courtesy of a 6-under 66 in the third round that took her to 11-under on the week. She started Sunday much slower, however, and missed the par-3 4th.
Zhang made 12 consecutive pars after that, although she missed what should have been an easy birdie putt on the par-4 16th. That birdie would have given him a two-stroke lead with two holes to go.
Zhang then deftly saved the par on the par-3 17th with a massive 10-foot putt to maintain his one-stroke lead. As her last-hole practice rolled into the fairway bunker, she landed her approach safely past the green. This set up a great preview of an up-and-down par to win, although Zhang’s putt was just to the right of the cut.
Kupcho’s drive on the first playoff hole landed in tall grass to the right of the fairway. Zhang wasn’t much better, however, as his ball landed in a bunker on the right. They both pitched safely in front of the green, and Zhang threw her shot in roughly the same position as she had it last time. This time, Zhang dropped his putt to save par. Kupcho tied it, however, the pair returned to 18th to play it a third time.
Both Kupcho and Zhang found the fairway the third time around, although Kupcho’s approach landed well short of the cup at the front of the green. Zhang blocked his approach only yards away. Although she missed her birdie — she was the only player on the court Sunday without one — Kupcho had three putts. Zhang’s par was enough to seal her maiden victory.
“This golf course is tough,” Zhang told Golf Channel. “I really had a bit of everything, I tasted the pressure, I tasted the wind. I tried to stay calm as always. I knew golf was just a chore and that “You really had to dig deep, so again that’s what I did. I’m glad to be here.
Kupcho finished alone in second place after her 3-under 69 on Sunday. Hae Ran Ryu has been a shot back at 8 under on the week.
Zhang has dominated the sport as an amateur in recent years. She was the first woman to win back-to-back NCAA titles at Stanford, and she set the single-season scoring record twice. She averaged 69.42 points in the 62 rounds she played collegiate and won 12 of the 20 college tournaments she appeared in. By comparison, Tiger Woods won just 11 times in his 26 starts while playing at Stanford. Zhang was also ranked No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings for a record 141 consecutive weeks before officially turning professional this week.