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Rose Zhang did the impossible and won in her first LPGA Tour start as a pro. These reactions show how historic it truly was.
Rose Zhang did the impossible and won in her first LPGA Tour event in a two-hole playoff over Jennifer Kupcho. She showed the gusto it takes to win a professional golf tournament, and it only took her four days on the job.
Zhang took home $415,500 for her first check as a pro, and that’s a strong start. She took the world by storm with her bend, don’t break style throughout the week. Zhang didn’t make one birdie the entire final round but found a way to make history.
What Zhang accomplished isn’t just women’s golf history but professional golf as a whole. Tiger Woods finished T60 in his first start on the PGA Tour. Michelle Wie West took four years before she won on the LPGA Tour. Zhang is transcending into becoming one of the biggest names in golf, and she still has finals at Stanford to take this week.
Golf fans everywhere appreciated what Zhang accomplished on Sunday, and she even got a tweet from Woods himself. She woke up on Monday to 500-plus texts, per Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols.
Tiger Woods won in his 5th start as a pro, then won again in his 7th start. Best ever start for a pro golfer.
Rose Zhang: Hold my beer.
— SportsFanNoypi (@DeyAlcalde) June 5, 2023
Rose won 80% of her college starts this year and 100% of her pro starts.
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) June 5, 2023
I’m pretty sure Rose Zhang just said “Hello World”.
— Jim Fidler (@j_d_fidler) June 5, 2023
Rose Zhang is a monster. She’s gonna get Annika numbers
— Rick Day (@Rickdiculous_) June 5, 2023
Rose Zhang is going to be the female Tiger Woods.
— Dave Spehar (@MNHockeyStar) June 5, 2023
Rose Zhang won her LPGA debut. First player to achieve that feat since 1951.
Interviewed her in April after she won the Augusta National Women’s Am. We were indescribably impressed by her candor, humor and obvious talent.
Absolute superstar in the making.
— Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) June 5, 2023
The golf world knows what kind of history they saw happen at Liberty National Golf Club. She became the first woman to win in their LPGA Tour debut since 1951.
Zhang has had her “Hello World” moment, and what a debut it was. She hung in with a veteran LPGA winner and had the stones to take down Kupcho. Her approach shot on the second playoff hole was veteran-level as she hit a hybrid to seven feet from winning.
Most would have cracked under the pressure Zhang felt all week, but it didn’t bother her. Somehow Zhang managed to keep her cool and do the impossible.
Now she is an even bigger star, who could be the most talked about male or female player this summer. She changed golf overnight.
