AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rose Zhang overcame nerves and the expectations that come with having a large lead, to triumph at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The Stanford standout began the day with a five-stroke advantage at Augusta National Golf Club, where she has struggled in each edition of the ANWA. The first two rounds at Champions Retreat Golf Club saw Zhang fire rounds of 66-65 and take a commanding lead, but as so many who have tried to finish off a big win at Bobby Jones’ place, it rarely comes easy.
Zhang had won just about everything in the Amateur game, except for this title. The Augusta National Women’s Amateur, would be the final piece to a brilliant amateur run. And, she had to dig deep to get it done.
Zhang was 4-over par through seven holes when the round was delayed 3 1/2 hours by storms. She made a questionable decision on the par-5 fifteenth to go for the green in two and found the water. However, Zhang did persevere, with opponent Jenny Bae in trouble on the second sudden-death playoff hole (tenth), Zhang made a routine par, tapping in from inches away to end the drama-filled final round.
Zhang reflected after the round, “I feel like when your swing is uncomfortable, it’s always very hard to play on a very difficult golf course, and Augusta National is no exception. Especially with it being such a big stage, every mistake is sort of magnified,” Zhang said. “So I think that just being able to kind of get back on track, that was my biggest feat today.”
“I feel like when your swing is uncomfortable, it’s always very hard to play on a very difficult golf course, and Augusta National is no exception. Especially with it being such a big stage, every mistake is sort of magnified,” Zhang said. “So I think that just being able to kind of get back on track, that was my biggest feat today.”
