Rose Zhang becomes first golfer in more than 70 years to win an LPGA Tour event in her first professional start.
Rose Zhang lived up to the hype in her professional golf debut, creating her own “Hello World,” moment.
The game’s most decorated women’s amateur golfer won the inaugural Mizuho Americas Open in a two-hole playoff over Jennifer Kupcho, becoming the first golfer to win in her LPGA Tour debut since Beverly Hanson in 1951.
Several months ago, tournament host and LPGA icon Michelle Wie said the event at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey, would not only promote equity and opportunity for women, but “support the next generation of talent.” Wie was more prescient than she could ever imagine, as the 20-year-old Zhang bested one of the strongest fields on the LPGA Tour — one that boasted eight of the top 10 players in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings.
Zhang earned $412,500 for the win, as the Mizuho Americas Open has one of the biggest prize purses on the LPGA Tour outside the major championships.
After the win, Zhang got a shout-out from fellow Stanford golfer Tiger Woods, whose career win total she broke with the Cardinal.
