PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Rose Zhang plays her shot from the ninth tee during the second round of the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on July 07, 2023. | Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Zhang entered her second round of the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach with a large hill to climb but made progress Friday.
Pebble Beach has flexed its muscles so far at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open with only six players under par through 36 holes.
Rose Zhang has flexed hers too.
The 20-year-old phenom was just one of a dozen players to fire an under-par score during Friday’s second round. She jumped 26 spots on the leaderboard after shooting 74 Thursday.
Windy, chilly, and overcast conditions have stumped the best female players in the world, including world number-one Jin Young Ko, who missed the cut.
But Zhang gracefully carded a 1-under 71 on Friday and now sits tied for 11th at 1-over for the championship heading into Saturday’s third round.
Despite her solid play, Zhang sits eight strokes behind leader Bailey Tardy. Tardy has played maybe the best golf of her life thus far.
However, that lead could evaporate quickly due to the difficult conditions and Tardy’s lack of major championship experience.
Yet, Zhang knows that she needs to stick to her game plan.
“I am really grateful that I was able to make the cut, and I’ll be able to steady myself and go into the weekend with a fresh mind,” Zhang said to the media after her second round.
“I’ve been in this position before where you have to chase, and it’s nothing new to me. I’ll try to do the same thing: Get my game plan and try to hit as many fairways and greens as possible because that will allow you to gain more birdie opportunities.”
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Rose Zhang putts on the eighth green during the second round of the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on July 07, 2023.
On Friday, Zhang hit 12-of-14 fairways but found only nine greens. She had to scramble quite a bit but never put herself in a position to send her round sideways.
After missed opportunities at the 10th and 11th holes—Zhang started on the back-nine—she missed a short par putt at the par-3 12th.
That stalled her momentum and dropped her to 3-over for the tournament.
Another bogey at 16 set her back to 4-over, and she quickly had the cut-line on her mind.
On the next hole, however, Zhang bounced back with a birdie. She hit a beautiful tee shot into the par-3 17th, and knocked in the 10-footer for a two.
“That kind of shifted my momentum into the back nine, where I turned it over to the front,” Zhang said. “Felt very solid with my game in general.”
She went on to birdie both par-5s on the front, the 2nd and the 6th, to finish with a 71.
That putt on 17 jump-started her round.
But Zhang knows she will have to be more aggressive this weekend, especially considering the deficit she faces.
“Over the next two days, I will take a little bit more of an aggressive approach,” Zhang said. “But I’m going to have to be able to hit those shots, so I think that’s the first thing.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
