No win, but a valuable learning experience for Rose Zhang in first major as a pro

SPRINGFIELD N.J. – Earlier this month, Rose Zhang did the near impossible – winning in her pro debut. 

In her first start since then, at a major championship, she almost topped her 72-year feat. 

Playing her first major as a professional, the 20-year-old finished T-8 at 5 under in Baltusrol’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, three strokes behind champion Ruoning Yin. Down the stretch, however, Zhang was staring at a victory before bogeys on Nos. 13 and 16 ultimately cost her. 

“I would say I’m content with the result. I’m not content with how I played,” Zhang said after a final-round, 4-under 67. “From the beginning of the week, I feel like there’s always room to work on things, and I’m really satisfied with my overall performance, but there’s little mistakes that I made that you just can’t really afford to make.

Full-field scores from the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

“I felt really confident with my putter the whole day, and the last couple days I feel like that really saved me this entire week. But the last couple holes, putts fell a little short, they lipped out a little bit.”

An eagle on the last in Round 3 got Zhang into red figures entering Sunday and she started the final round six strokes behind 54-hole leader Leona Maguire. 

When Zhang plays, it’s hard to distinguish whether she’s playing a practice round with friends or coming down the stretch with a chance to win. 

In a major, however, with the largest gallery of any player on the course, she admitted the vibe was tense. 

It was a different feel than a few weeks ago down the road at Liberty National, where she played alongside AJGA competitors in capturing the Mizuho Americas Open, becoming the first LPGA player since 1951 to win in her pro debut.

With that experience, plus all the winning performances as an amateur, the former Stanford star tried to treat this like any other tournament. The biggest difference, though, was the course. 

“I feel like it’s still golf, so I still felt the same energy as any other event except this is major week, and the golf course is a lot harder,” she said. “It’s playing a lot more difficult. You have to be on your toes at all times. Losing a little bit of focus causes you to have errors, and that’s just something you can’t afford at a major championship.

“But I think that was the different part, was just making sure that you’re still in the moment and you’re still hitting it shot by shot, regardless of what the result is.”

At multiple points in the final round, Zhang got within one shot of the lead. Social media was buzzing. Her peers have taken notice of the attention she’s received and while there might be some jealousy, there’s also a cautionary tone.

“There’s a lot of hype around her, which I understand why you guys (the media) do that,” Mel Reid said Friday, “but I think for her to find her feet a little bit – it’s easy to say that she’s going to be a superstar – but this tour can grind you down sometimes.

“I think she’s going to do just fine, and just try and keep the expectations low for her and kind of let her feel her way into the tour. But I think she’s great for us.”

Two days after those comments, Zhang nearly upped those expectations. But, in just her second pro start – and first in a major – she fell short.

Nevertheless, it was a valuable learning experience. 

“It’s definitely a different dynamic when you’re a professional versus an amateur,” Zhang said, “and when you’re playing your game, you really have to be precise with your numbers, really understand what your swing is doing, and there is no room for error. Therefore, I’m excited to keep working on my game.”

Now, following a bye week, she will take those lessons to Pebble Beach for the U.S. Women’s Open. 

Earlier this month, Zhang left New Jersey leaving little doubt that she’s the future. But despite not emerging victorious for the second time in three weeks, she leaves the Garden State this time as arguably the face of the women’s game. 

“This week was pretty special for a little new career start,” she said.