Rose Zhang, the Stanford golf superstar who defended her NCAA individual title on May 23, remarkably won her first LPGA tournament in her pro debut this past weekend. Plenty of people in the golf world were impressed with her performance, even fellow Stanford Cardinal Tiger Woods.
Woods tweeted his congratulations to Zhang following her victory.
“Incredible few weeks for Rose Zhang, defends her NCAA title and then wins in her Pro debut. Go card!” Woods said.
Zhang secured the victory with a par on the second playoff hole at the Mizuho Americas Open. She finished the final round with a 2-over 74 and the tournament with a 9-under score of 279. She is the first woman since 1951 to win her debut tournament as a professional.
Zhang has been heralded as the next great golf prodigy for several years, a label that she has lived up to so far with relative ease. She had one of the most decorated careers of any college golfer, becoming the first woman to win two NCAA individual championships in the sport.
Zhang broke a Tiger Woods Stanford record, winning 12 individual events during her college career. She also holds the record for most weeks as the No. 1 ranked women's amateur golfer, having been at the top for 141 consecutive weeks before turning pro.
With the win comes the spoils for Rose Zhang. She pocketed $412,500, but more importantly, received an automatic LPGA Tour membership. There must be something in the water at Stanford, as Zhang looks to follow in Tiger Woods' footsteps and become a dominant pro at a very young age.
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