Rose Zhang’s professional career got off to a fast start, winning the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National in her first event. Three weeks later, the former Stanford star tied for eighth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. And last week at Pebble Beach, Zhang finished T-9 at the U.S. Women’s Open.
However, Zhang has now missed her first cut as a professional after rounds of 66-77 at the Dana Open at Highlands Meadow Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio.
“I will say that I’m a little more fatigued than I would like to be. I caught a cold, so my voice is not exactly the most normal right now. I will say that I had a nine-hour delay going from Phoenix, connecting flight to here. To Detroit actually. So it was a bit of a travel mess. I came in Tuesday morning at 3 a.m., so the practice rounds and the pro-am was a little bit shaky for me. I’m glad that I played a solid round, and hopefully, I can rest a little bit more,” Zhang said after her 5-under opening round.
Her tiredness caught up with her Friday, as she totaled six bogeys and no birdies for a Day 2 6-over 77.
Atop the leaderboard is Annie Park, who’s opened the tournament with rounds of 68-63 and leads at 11 under. U.S. Women’s Open champ Allisen Corpuz is tied for second at 9 under with 18-hole leader Linn Grant, who shot a second-round 69, and Jaravee Boonchant, who also shot a Friday 69.
“I love Pebble, it’s one of my favorite places, so being able to go this year is just amazing.”
Former U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Gabriela Ruffels will make her third U.S. Women’s Open appearance this summer at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Ruffels, 23, currently leads the Epson Tour money list after winning her second event of the season earlier this month in record fashion.
The former USC star finished at 7 under over 36 holes to top the qualifying field on Monday at The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Ruffels tied for 13th at the 2020 USWO.
“I love USGA events, especially at Pebble it’s going to be really historic and unique,” Ruffels told Golf Canada. “I love Pebble, it’s one of my favorite places, so being able to go this year is just amazing.”
After a competitive 36-holes, Gabriela Ruffels of Indian Wells, California and Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. have earned direct exemptions into the 2023 U.S. Women’s Openhttps://t.co/80mkPuGV2x
Lauren Kim, 17, of Surrey, British Columbia, finished at 5 under to take the second spot. Both Kim and Ruffels competed at the Women’s Open at Pine Needles last year. Kim heads to the University of Texas in the fall.
A number of LPGA players teed it up at the Echo Lake qualifier in Westfield, New Jersey. LPGA winners Jenny Shin and Annie Park qualified, as did Haeji Kang and rookie Natthakritta Vongtaveelap.
— Georgia State Golf Association (@GSGA) May 16, 2023
In Georgia, it was an Alabama sweep at Druid Hills Golf Club as amateurs Sarah Edwards and Benedetta Moresco qualified. Edwards, a senior from Jay, Florida, won the qualifier with rounds of 69-68. Italy’s Moresco finished one shot back.
“I just overall started having fun on the golf course again last week, and been enjoying it this week as well.”
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — In the world where golf and karma intersect, it made sense that Annie Park had a positive experience at the Chevron Championship on Friday morning.
Playing by herself and the first one out on the course, Park breezed around the Dinah Shore Tournament Course for a 5-under 67 to move to 8 under for the tournament and up among the leaders.
A smile beamed as she addressed the media after the round, part of her best 36-hole effort ever at a major.
“Just having fun out there. I think that’s kind of the biggest key, and it’s been a while that I’ve had a great time on the golf course,” she said.
Flashback to 2019 and Park wasn’t smiling. On Wednesday night before the tournament then known as the ANA Inspiration started that year, Park’s car was broken into in the parking lot of her Palm Desert hotel. She learned her golf clubs were stolen when she woke up Thursday morning about two and a half hours before she was scheduled to tee off.
She cobbled together a set of clubs using the only long putter they had in the clubhouse, her caddie’s irons and some hastily put together woods and was able to play. She didn’t play poorly considering the circumstances, but she did miss the cut.
Annie Park lines up her tee shot on the 9th hole during the second round of the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, March 30, 2022.
“No one ever found my clubs,” she said Friday, as the police report she had to file back then didn’t lead to anything. “Yeah, that was stressful, but it was a lesson learned. And I’ve got a great set now, so everything’s good.”
That’s an understatement. Park used those clubs to string together six birdies and one bogey on Friday, including a three-birdie stretch on holes 18, one, and two. To be in contention at a major is a big step for Park. This is her 23rd major tournament, and she’s never finished inside the top 15.
She admitted that she considered calling it a career or at least taking a break from golf as her performance was lagging and the toll of playing pro golf during the pandemic sapped some of the enjoyment out of the game.
“Yeah, it feels good to be back (in contention),” she said. “You know, I think for a while I thought about stepping away from the game. I mean, COVID really was long. Last year I took the two-month break just needing some time to myself. Yeah, I think last week was the first time I started to enjoy it again. Just not with golf, but just in general, like being able to see the spectators again and just having this newfound passion for golf.”
On Thursday and Friday, Park was in the unusual situation of playing by herself. The tournament plays in twosomes and there were 115 golfers in the field, so that meant someone has to play by themselves and Park was the last player to make the field.
But is playing as a single an advantage or a disadvantage? Even after playing two great rounds, she wasn’t 100 percent sure if being by herself helped her.
“Yesterday, I was just chilling, taking my time. Then I realized the group behind me started to catch up, and I’m like, I’m going to get a warning at this rate by myself,” she said. “Playing by myself was kind of weird yesterday, but today I kind of got used to it.
Annie Park lines up a putt on the 8th hole during the second round of the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, March 30, 2022.
“When I made the turn and started waiting on players in the group in front of me, kind of just starts to feel like a normal golf all over again,” she said. “It could be an advantage that you do have a little bit more time to yourself, but also overthinking is not always great.”
The one clear disadvantage? Without a playing partner, she had to rely heavily on her caddie Scott Leonard’s sense of humor.
“I mean, I am by myself out there, so there is a lot of talking to myself and I’ve been stuck with my caddie’s dad jokes,” she said with a laugh.
Park went to USC, but is a New Yorker through and through as evidenced by the white Yankees cap she wore during her round Friday. Even giving her a mulligan for the 2019 tournament, she has not had much success on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course.
She’s played here four other times, missing the cut twice along with finishes of 56th and 57th.
She’s been tinkering successfully with the entire package that is her golf game in recent weeks and it’s paying off. She’s worked on the mental aspect, her swing, and even her equipment, adding a Scotty Cameron putter and a TSi3 driver to her bag.
“I’ve been studying my own swing, and it’s been kind of helping me guide my DNA and base foundation out there,” she said. “I actually changed to a new putter and it’s been helping out a lot. I’ve added new iron shafts, new driver. But, yeah, I just overall started having fun on the golf course again last week, and been enjoying it this week as well.”
Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
Only two players have won the Chevron title in consecutive years.
Anyone who watched Patty Tavatanakit dominate the field at the Chevron Championship in winning the 2021 major championship can’t be surprised that Tavatanakit is looking for back-to-back wins in the event this year.
A pair of late birdies Friday pushed Tavatanakit to 8-under 136 after 36 holes on the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club. That puts Tavatanakit, the reigning LPGA rookie of the year, just one shot behind leader Hinako Shibuno after the morning wave of players in the second round.
Only two players, Sandra Post in 1978-79 and Annika Sorenstam in 2001-02, have won the Chevron title in consecutive years.
Shibuno, the 2019 AIG Women’s Open winner, shot one of the best rounds of the morning, a 6-under 66 that included seven birdies. Shibuno is at 9 under, and like Tavatanakit, she is seeking her second major title.
Tavatanakit is tied at 8 under with Annie Park, who for the second day in a row played without a partner. Park shot a 67 on Friday.
A group of players is tied at 6 under for the tournament, including overnight leaders Minjee Lee and Jennifer Kupcho, who have afternoon tee times.
Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand reacts after a birdie on the 17th hole during the second round of The Chevron Championship at The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa on April 01, 2022, in Rancho Mirage, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Tavantanakit said she left too many shots on the course Friday, but was happy with the two closing birdies
“I think 17 was definitely a bonus,” Tavatanakit said of the 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3. “That pin position (tight to the left side of the green) was just taking it one shot at a time, and it ended up being a great shot.”
Knowing the tee is up on the 485-yard par-5 18th hole, Tavatanakit was again able to reach the island green in two shots but missed the putting surface to the left. She hit a delicate chip shot to within three feet and made the birdie putt in front of applauding fans who were not at the tournament last year because of COVID-19 restrictions.
“I remember being here as an amateur and making birdie on that hole (the 18th) is always a cheery feeling,” Tavatanakit said.
Park playing well
Annie Park, the 26-year old from New York who attended USC, was the first player out on the course Friday, and she played by herself as the odd woman out in the 115-player field. She took advantage of the solitude by firing a 5-under 67 to move her to 8 under for the tournament.
Annie Park tees off on the 9th hole during the second round of the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, on April 1, 2022.
Park being in contention could be considered a bit of a surprise. This is Park’s 23rd major championship, and she’s never finished inside the top 15. Her best finish in this event is a tie for 56th.
“Just overall it was a great day and I feel pretty — a lot better about my long game. Been putting a lot better. Made some really good putts out there. Did leave some out there, but overall I’m stroking it pretty solid,” said Park, who’s just plain having fun on the course this week. “Yeah, it’s nice. I think the fans are very supportive. So nice to see just fans out there again, always supporting, Hey, go Annie, fight on.”
Golfweek’s Julie Williams ranks the top 10 female college golfers of the past decade.
Women’s college golf is continually getting deeper, as evidenced by the number of new teams that are constantly coming into the mix in the postseason.
The past decade not only saw breakout stars, but more opportunities. For one thing, a women’s player of the year award came into the mix in 2014 with the creation of the ANNIKA Award. Like the Haskins Award, it’s voted on by players coaches and media.
Three of the women on this list have won that award — some multiple times. Others broke program record, NCAA records, racked up titles or led their teams to NCAA glory.
These are the best 10 women’s college golfers of the decade.
10. Bronte Law, UCLA (2013-2016)
UCLA’s Bronte Law. (Photo: UCLA Athletics)
Law won seven times in three and a half seasons as a Bruin (which is a program record), and almost half of those came in her junior season. That year ended with the ANNIKA Award as well as the top spot in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings. Over the course of her college career, Law shaved three shots off her scoring average.
