Not long before Rose Zhang clutched a microphone on Tuesday, Michelle Wie West laughingly made an observation: Zhang might have logged more weeks as the world’s No.
1 amateur women’s golfer than Wie West spent as an amateur, period.
It was an exaggeration — even though Wie West became a professional at 15 years old and Zhang spent more than 140 weeks in the top spot — but it also wryly underscored how Zhang’s rise in women’s golf is playing out differently from how other ascending stars built their careers.
In Zhang, who will make her professional debut this week at the Mizuho Americas Open in Jersey City, N.J., women’s golf is getting the rare prodigy who has played for an American college.
“So I wanted to see how I fared in college golf, and it turned out well.”
Persons:
Rose Zhang clutched, Michelle Wie West laughingly, Zhang, Wie, you’re, ” Zhang, “
Organizations:
Mizuho
Locations:
Jersey City, N.J