AUGUSTA, Georgia – As the Augusta National Women’s Amateur replayed on Golf Channel Monday morning, champion Rose Zhang was out on the back nine tracking Tiger Woods. Zhang got a prime seat at the back of the 12th tee alongside good friend and fellow NCAA champion Rachel Heck and waited for Woods, who was playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Fred Couples.
A member of Zhang’s team first got the attention of McIlroy, who nudged Woods to let him know that a fellow Cardinal was in the gallery.
“I got to shake hands with Rory and Tiger,” said Zhang with a wide smile. “And then Fred Couples came up and had me stand up. I was like, ‘Wow, I was really being put on the spot.’ ”
Zhang, 19, certainly deserved an ovation after clinching the ANWA in dramatic fashion on Saturday to add to one of the greatest amateur resumes the game has seen. Zhang joins Woods and Pat Hurst as one of three players to win the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Junior and NCAA Championship. She won the ANWA in her fourth attempt.
There’s a chance that Zhang could top Woods’ Stanford record in the coming weeks. The sophomore has won nine of 16 career starts for the Cardinal, including five of six this year. Woods holds the record for most wins at Stanford at 11, along with Maverick McNealy and Patrick Rodgers. Woods made 26 career starts in two years at Stanford.
Zhang, who first met Woods at the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup, has four events left on her spring schedule.
After meeting with the press on Saturday, Zhang headed back over to Amen Corner to take sunset pictures with her team.
“It was perfect,” said Zhang. “Kind of the calm after the storm environment.”
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