The biggest sensation in golf is coming to northwest Ohio.
Not Tiger Woods. Not Michael Block. Not resurgent Brooks Koepka.
Golf’s current “it” player is none of the above. She only turned professional Friday, but Rose Zhang has all-time great written all over her. And thanks to a sponsor’s exemption, she’ll be in the field at the Dana LPGA Open at Highland Meadows July 13-16.
The prodigious talent became the first woman to win two Division I NCAA individual national championships. In two seasons at Stanford, Zhang won 12 times in 20 starts, including eight victories in 10 events this season, surpassing Tiger Woods’ 11 collegiate wins. Zhang’s eight wins in 2022-23 tied World Golf Hall of Famer Lorena Ochoa for the NCAA single-season record. Zhang also equaled Ochoa’s record 12 career victories.
The Irvine, Calif., native is a two-time Annika Award winner as the nation’s top college player, and she twice set the NCAA single-season scoring record -— 69.68 as a freshman and 68.81 as a sophomore. In 62 career rounds at Stanford, Zhang had a sub-70 average, with 31 rounds in the 60s.
The 20-year-old was the No. 1-ranked women’s amateur in the world for a record 141 consecutive weeks. She’s a three-time winner of the McCormack Medal, given annually to the top amateur player in the world by the R&A.
“It’s cliche to say, but I never dreamed of having the opportunity to coach the greatest female amateur of all-time,” Stanford coach Anne Walker said. “Rose Zhang has led our team with class both on and off the golf course every day for two years. She’s broken every record, won every championship, and taken our team to the top of college golf. I’m quite certain I’ll never coach anyone quite like Rose again. She’s a generational player.”
Joining Zhang in the field via sponsor’s exemptions are Gabi Ruffels and Lauren Walsh. Ruffels is a former All-American at USC who won the 2019 US Women’s Amateur. She turned pro last year and is currently first on the developmental Epson Tour money list ($90,135), with nearly double the amount of money as second-place Natasha Andrea Oon. Ruffels is all but assured of earning her LPGA Tour card for 2024.
Walsh, a senior from Ireland, led Wake Forest to the national championship over USC. The three-time All-American finished in the top 10 in seven of 12 events this season. She will turn pro prior to the Dana Open.
Beginning in 2015, the Dana Open has provided two of its three sponsor’s exemptions to the NCAA individual champion and a member of the winning team. Zhang opted not to play in last year’s Dana Open as the date conflicted with school and Stanford’s fall season.
“To have Rose Zhang, Gabi Ruffels, and Lauren Walsh in the field is just awesome,” tournament director Judd Silverman said. “Rose is a superstar in the making, Gabi is having a phenomenal first year as a professional, and Lauren just led her team to the national championship. It will be fun to see how these great young players do against the best players in the world come July at Highland Meadows.”
Tickets can be purchased at the Dana Open website danaopen.com. Tickets are also still available for “An Evening with Peyton Manning” at the Stranahan Theater May 31. Proceeds benefit Dana Open charities.
Zhang joins Jennifer Kupcho as the second Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion to play in the Dana Open. The week before the Dana Open Zhang will attempt to win her third USGA championship at the US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. She won the 2020 US Women’s Amateur at the age of 17 and the 2021 US Girls’ Junior, becoming just the eighth player to win both events.
Zhang will make her pro debut at the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club next week. In 15 career starts in pro tournaments, she’s only missed three cuts.
First Published May 27, 2023, 3:14 p.m.
