At 20 years old, golf phenom Rose Zhang has a reputation for poise under pressure—for being calm and disciplined in her approach to the game and her expectations about herself. Although known for breaking records and dominating the competition as an amateur, in June when she became the first woman in more than 70 years to win her professional golf debut, she expressed surprise: “I honestly didn’t even expect to make the cut.” After tying for third in the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in late October, she said she just feels “really lucky,” adding: “I still have lots to learn.”Under that demeanor is a fierce drive. “Even though I’m considered pretty mellow, pretty chill, I definitely do have a very competitive spirit,” Zhang says over video from Malaysia just before the Maybank tournament. She has admitted that as a rising star on golf’s junior circuit in Southern California, she kept her 25 or so gold medals but threw away up to 20 silver ones, because who cares about second place? “I think that fight in me, that grind, has definitely allowed me to be where I am now,” she says.

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Persons: Rose Zhang, “, I’m, ” Zhang, ” Locations: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Southern California