Every Rose Has Its ... Trophy
Siri, what are "Songs with Rose in the name...?"
This past weekend, Rose Zhang won her first LPGA title - in her first tournament as an LPGA player - and may have shaken up the world of golf in a way that hasn’t happened in quite some time. Among other things, it’s going to lead to an absolute flurry of bad puns around the word rose, such as the title of this post.
Rose decided to go pro last week after winning her second straight NCAA title, being part of a championship winning squad at Stanford and laying a claim to being the greatest collegiate golfer of all time. She’s 20 years old.
It’s worth acknowledging that 20 isn’t actually that young for the LPGA, but still, that’s quite a resume. I won’t pretend I’ve been a huge LPGA or women’s golf fan - I watch bigger events, but I don’t keep track of it in the way I do the PGA. But that might change because Rose is something special.
It’s hard to care about golf and not know about Rose a little bit, but I first really became aware of her when No Laying Up did one of the best pieces they’ve ever done (which is saying something) and spent a week with the Stanford women’s golf team. It’s here if you’ve missed it.
It’s really quite something going on in Palo Alto, and Rose certainly shined in this - but the mercurial nature of sports should also point out that the video also really highlights Rachel Heck, her teammate and friend and dominant golfer - who has since really struggled due to injuries. Things change fast.
What hasn’t changed thus far is Rose. She’s insanely steady - the biggest slings and arrows at her are that in several of her WINS she hasn’t stepped on the throats of her competitors on the final day and won with less than her best stuff.
That’s not untrue, certainly - on Sunday she didn’t make a birdie and bogeyed the 18th hole to have to win in a playoff. And on the second hole of that playoff, she showed off why she’s such a great golfer - and it starts with what she isn’t. Most phenoms in golf tend to be huge hitters, and are prodigies because of their athletic dominance. Rose is a great athlete, but she is not a big hitter. She’s just fundamentally sound at literally everything. She was so far behind Jennifer Kupcho in the fairway that she was hitting a hybrid while Kupcho hit an 8-iron into the green. Rose put her shot to six feet while Kupcho was almost sixty feet away. After Kupcho three putted for bogey, Rose had two putts to win and did just that.
It’s also worth noting that one reason she’s such good news for the LPGA is not just her skill, but the fact that the green was immediately FLOODED with friends and family - including many other golfers - who seemed absolutely thrilled with the outcome. Rose seemed a bit shocked by both the outcome and response, but that also might just be her polished (and legitimate) humility. Being in the area, many folks have some stories about Rose and they’re ALL positive. Her teammates seem to adore her, she is funny but not arrogant in her interviews, etc. She’s a star already, and has her entire career ahead of her.
It’s also worth noting that none of this means that Rose is going to become one of the greatest professional golfers - there are many, many golfers on both tours who look incredibly promising at the start of their careers and then fade due to injuries, mental health, or just being surpassed by the next bigger and better star. Zhang has said that one of the players she looks up to is Lydia Ko, who is still only 26 - but started playing as a teenager, and quickly won two majors.
She hasn’t won one since and almost left the sport before resurrecting her career. This is just to say that everything is in play with Rose. But it is such a joy to watch her play that I think it means big things for her and the LPGA. I’m excited to watch.