Day after breaking Pebble Beach course record, Stanford’s Rose Zhang opens season with win

New season, same Rose Zhang.

The Stanford superstar kicked off her sophomore season with a new course record and later dominating victory on one of world’s most iconic venues. Zhang shot 9-under 63 on Saturday at Pebble Beach Golf Links, site of the season-opening Carmel Cup, before shooting 72 Sunday to cap her five-shot win over teammate Megha Ganne.

Behind Zhang’s 13-under performance, the reigning national champion Cardinal shot 12 under to beat runner-up Texas A&M, a national semifinalist from last spring, by 13 shots.

Zhang fell short of Rachel Heck’s 54-hole program scoring record of 18 under as she offset four bogeys with two bogeys and a double on Sunday, but she’ll still leave the Monterey Peninsula with the women’s competitive course record at Pebble. The previous record holder was Brittany Lincicome, who fired a 64 at last year’s TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational. Texas Tech’s Hurly Long holds the men’s record of 61, which came at the 2017 Carmel Cup. Event organizers discontinued the men’s tournament this year in favor of inviting women’s teams.

With Sunday’s win, Zhang now has five in 11 starts with Stanford. Last season, she won four times, including the NCAA individual title, and never finished outside the top 10 en route to winning the Annika Award as the top women’s college player.