Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Zhang, who is playing in her first major championship as a professional, is making quite an impact at Baltusrol.
Rose Zhang is playing well at her first major championship as a professional.
Perhaps no shot of hers was better than her second at the 498-yard par-5 18th.
From the fairway, Zhang rifled it to just three feet away. She proceeded to make the easy eagle putt, thus vaulting her up the leaderboard at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol.
Her eagle three on Baltusrol’s closing hole moved her into red figures, as she will begin Sunday’s final round at 1-under for the tournament.
Zhang’s eagle capped a 3-under 68, the first time she has shot a sub-70 round this week.
“I can’t make that many mistakes,” Zhang said after her third round on the Peacock broadcast. “I need all parts of my game to be my A game.”
On Thursday, Zhang opened with a 1-under 70, despite ‘searching’ for her swing all day.
She struggled on Friday, battling the harsh conditions, and finished with a 3-over 74 to send her down the leaderboard.
But for the 20-year-old Zhang to make the cut in her first major as a professional is incredibly impressive.
She seemingly has won every tournament she has participated in, as she has won the last two NCAA individual women’s championships.
She also won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur the week before the Masters.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America via Getty Images
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Rose Zhang hits her tee shot on the 18th hole during the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club on Friday, June 23, 2023.
Zhang then made history in her LPGA debut, as she defeated Jennifer Kupcho in a playoff to win the Mizuho Americas Open in New Jersey. Her victory at Liberty National marked the first time in 72 years that an LPGA player won a tournament in her debut.
The former Stanford Cardinal is in a position to make history again in New Jersey, but she will need a historic round Sunday to get close to the lead.
Leona Maguire of Ireland currently has control of the championship. She is 6-under overall at the time of this writing.
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.
