Zhang has now earned close to $2 million in career earnings.
Rose Zhang began the Cognizant Founders Cup with a career-record low 63 and ended it with a late birdie run that won’t soon be forgotten. Down three strokes with five holes to play, Zhang poured in four birdies down the closing stretch to chase down Madelene Sagstrom and win her second career title.
Zhang collected $450,000 for her efforts. She has now earned $608,097 this year and $1,997,891 in official career earnings.
Rookie Gabriela Ruffel finished solo third, collecting her largest paycheck of the season. Ruffels now ranks 12th on the money list with $435,620.
Check out the full prize money list for the 2024 Cognizant Founders Cup, which featured a $3 million purse:
Down by three with five holes to play, Zhang didn’t panic.
Down by three with five holes to play at the Cognizant Founders Cup, Rose Zhang didn’t panic. The sage Stanford student dug deep and tried to enjoy herself.
When she poured in her fourth birdie in five holes on the 18th – dead center in the cup – Zhang bent over in a state of shock and relief. In the post-round interview, the LPGA sophomore told Golf Channel’s Karen Stupples that she was still shaking.
“It’s honestly very cliche, but I have to give it back to my faith,” said Zhang of how she’s able to rise to the occasion time and again. “I think I had so much strength in me to really go out there and try my best, and without any other consequences or no matter what I shoot I’m going out there and I’m glorifying God.
“I mean, this is for Him for sure.”
Zhang, who turns 21 later this month, closed with a 66 at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey, winning her second career title by two over Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom.
Sunday at the Founders Cup felt more like a Solheim Cup as Sagstrom and Zhang had separated themselves from the field by 10 strokes. Sagstrom began to pull away midway through the round, carding five birdies in an 11-hole span.
But down the stretch, the show belonged to Zhang, who this time last year was putting the finishing touches on her second NCAA title at Stanford. Zhang finished the Founders Cup at 24 under while Sagstrom, who played the last five holes 1 over, came up short at 22 under.
Rookie Gabriela Ruffels, who finished solo third, was miles back at 9 under.
Sagstrom, a big hitter with an even bigger heart, shed some tears in her post-round TV interview but held her head high, calling this week the best golf she’s played in years.
“Just being in this position, this is what we all trying to do,” she said. “We’re trying to feel these nerves. I was nervous today. I chunked a chip on 1. Just pure nerves.
“I think you’re not going to learn by not being here.”
The week began with all eyes on Nelly Korda, who looked to become the first player in LPGA history to win six consecutive starts. Korda’s rounds of 73-73 over the weekend put her in a share of seventh for the tournament.
Nancy Lopz (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) are the only other players to win five consecutive starts on the LPGA. Neither finished in the top 10 in their quest to win six in a row.
Zhang next heads next to Liberty National for the Mizuho Americas Open, site of her maiden victory last spring when she became the first player since Beverly Hanson in 1951 to win on the LPGA in her pro debut.
After such an historic start to her pro career, many expected Zhang to win in bunches last year. Unfortunately for Zhang, the putter she used to win all her major amateur titles, as well as the Mizuho, got lost on a train in London after her father left it behind. The mistake cost her a good deal of confidence.
“My putters have been quite interesting,” said Zhang of trying to find a replacement. “I’ve had a love-hate relationship with almost all of them. But this one in particular I think I’m going to keep it a little longer in the bag, for sure.
“Hopefully my dad doesn’t bring it on a train again and we can go about our business.”
As Zhang heads to Mizuho looking to start a streak of her own, she talked about how much growth she has experienced in the past year. Her faith, she said, really deepened since she’s been at school, and she was able to “re-grasp” who she is as a person at Stanford.
“There was definitely a lot of energy, a lot of I guess shivers when I was playing out there,” said Zhang, “but I had something in me that really told me to keep myself grounded and patient, which I’m very thankful for.
“And also Scottie (Scheffler) in the Masters interview, he’s been a huge inspiration for me and other people. I mean, he’s an incredible player to say the least, but even if he didn’t win, even if he doesn’t play the greatest golf, I think himself, how he carries himself as a follower of Jesus’ is incredible, and I was very inspired by that.”
Both Sagstrom and Zhang would pick up LPGA victory No. 2 with a win Sunday.
It’s a two-horse race coming to the finish line.
Madelene Sagstrom leads by one shot over Rose Zhang with 18 holes to play at the 2024 Cognizant Founders Cup at Upper Montclair Country Club, and the next closest players, including Nelly Korda, are 10 shots behind Zhang.
Sagstrom shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 on moving day to pull a shot ahead of Zhang, who was a part of the 18- and 36-hole leads. Zhang had seven birdies on Saturday but matched it with two bogeys to enter the final round a shot back.
Nelly Korda, who entered the week searching for her sixth consecutive win, is not playing bad golf, entering the final round at 8 under and tied with Gabriela Ruffels and Sei Young Kim, but being 11 shots behind Sagstrom means the chase for six is probably finished.
Korda shot 1-over 73 in the third round, piling up four bogeys in her first nine holes.
Both Sagstrom and Zhang would pick up LPGA victory No. 2 with a win Sunday.
Korda then went out and promptly birdied her first two holes and four of her first seven to cut the lead to six. A couple of birdies on the back nine, including the 18th hole, got Korda to 9 under after 36 holes, four back of the lead held by Zhang and Madelene Sagstrom.
In other words: Game on.
Korda is one of only three in LPGA history to win five straight starts. She’s looking to be the first to claim six, and she’ll have a shot to do so this weekend at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey.
Korda has 10 birdies and just one bogey over two days. Zhang, who shot 63-68 in pursuit of her second LPGA win, led by as many at five strokes Friday but Sagstrom seems determined to not be left out of the fun this weekend as she has posted scores of 65 and 66. The three-time Solheim Cupper has one win on her LPGA resume, at the 2020 Gainbridge LPGA. Zhang also has one win, in the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open, next week’s event on the schedule.
The rain that started falling during Korda’s back nine didn’t seem to phase her in the least.
“I think just lock in a lot more. I wish I locked in this much when the weather is really nice. Jay and I do a really good job going through everything and locking in,” she said, crediting her caddie Jason McDede. “I hit 17 out of 18 greens and majority of the fairways today, so really happy with the way I played today.”
Korda, who insisted before the tournament started that she’s not thinking about the streak, also indicated she has not been scoreboard watching along the way.
“I feel like I’m a lot behind the leaders. I think five shots, right? Five or four shots. I don’t know. Definitely more pressure on you when everyone is trying to get you, and there is something fun about trying to catch the leaders.
“They’re both very different. I’m just going to stay in my bubble. This golf course is already hard enough, so not going to put that much pressure on myself trying to catch them. Wherever I can take advantage I will and see how it goes,” Korda said.
Lydia Ko, who needs just one point to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, shot a Friday 71 and is 4 under, tied for sixth, through 36 holes.
Jin Young Ko, who won three of the last four Founders Cups, shot 72-69 and is tied for 15th after two days.
Zhang has one bogey over her first 36 holes at Upper Montclair Country Club.
Rose Zhang seems to be growing fond of the New Jersey area.
Zhang won her LPGA debut about one year ago at the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National. This week, she’s finding Upper Montclair Country Club to be very much to her liking.
During Friday’s second round of the 2024 Cognizant Founders Cup, Zhang posted a 4-under 68 and walked off the course at 13 under with a four-shot lead. She led by as many as five over Madelene Sagstrom at one point, as the second-year pro is taking control of the tournament in search of LPGA win No. 2.
Zhang started on No. 10 on Friday and carded her first – and only bogey – of the week on the 16th hole. She was even through 10 but then made four birdies over a six-hole stretch on Nos. 2 through 7 before closing with back-to-back pars.
So, Rose, what is it about these Jersey courses you seem to like to much?
“I’m lucky I have a good track record so far. I like the environment, and Jersey is always just such a fun place to come back to,” she said.
Nelly Korda, seeking her LPGA record sixth straight victory, was in the afternoon wave of tee times. She opened with a 3-under 69 and was nine strokes back of Zhang after opening with a birdie on her first hole.
Lydia Ko, who needs just one point to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, shot a Friday 71 and is 4 under, tied for sixth, through 36 holes.
Zhang shot a 9-under 63 in the first round of the 2024 Cognizant Founders Cup to take a two-shot lead after 18 holes at Upper Montclair Country Club, located about 18 miles from the site of that maiden victory last season at the Mizuho Americas Open, which is next week’s event on the LPGA.
As for Zhang, after that maiden victory, it’s taken some time for win No. 2.
“It’s been a really interesting journey for me,” she said. “I think the first couple months that I was out here it was very adrenaline-based where I was just living the life and kind of going out, having a lot of fun, no expectations, just learning and taking everything in.”
Then Zhang tipped her cap to Korda and the potential history to be made this week in Clifton, New Jersey.
“I just want to reiterate, it’s so hard winning out here on tour,” Zhang said. “What Nelly is doing is something quite unheard of, and only two other players have done it before.”
Zhang’s bogey-free round bested the morning wave 65 that was posted by Madelene Sagstrom, who had six birdies and an eagle to go along with just one bogey.
Narin An, Leona Maguire and Stephanie Kyriacou are tied for third at 6 under. There are 10 golfers tied at 4 under before a group of 18 golfers that Korda is apart of at 3 under. Lydia Ko is among those in that cluster. Ko is one point away from clinching a spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame. One more win will punch that ticket.
Five days ago, Zhang joined Michelle Wie West at Yankee Stadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Next week, she’ll look to defend her lone LPGA title at Liberty National Golf Course.
But first things first: another 18 holes Friday at the Founders Cup.
“I think as long as I have that little bit of confidence, no matter what happens the next couple days, I know that I’m going to be able to grind it out and figure something out along the way.”
Integrating juniors was the plan from the start for this purpose-driven event.
Rose Zhang remembers the Friday afternoon weather delay at the inaugural Mizuho Americas Open like it was yesterday. It was her first start as a professional on the LPGA, but she found herself in player dining surrounded by high school friends who’d gathered to talk about college life and the junior golf scene. The kitchen staff at Liberty National Golf Course brought out warm cookies.
“That was honestly a blast,” said Zhang, “even though it was a delay.”
Zhang, of course, went on to make history over the weekend, becoming the first player since Beverly Hanson in 1951 to win on the LPGA in her pro debut. Hanson, incidentally, will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in June. Zhang, 20, credits time spent with the juniors in helping her pull off the historic victory. Their presence at Liberty National made her more comfortable.
Rose Zhang speaks during a news conference after a playoff win against Jennifer Kupcho at the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
Integrating juniors into the Mizuho Americas Open was the plan from the start for this purpose-driven event. Tournament host Michelle Wie West, 34, hoped that relationships would form organically as juniors and pros shared the same locker room, dining room, physio trailer and tee times.
While the LPGA event, held this year May 16-19 in Jersey City, New Jersey, features an elite field of 120 pros, the concurrent AJGA Invitational boasts 24 of the best junior girls in the world. Last year, Yana Wilson won the inaugural junior title alongside Zhang, a close friend.
It was a full-circle moment for Wilson, who grew up attending the LPGA Kia Classic in the San Diego area where she would always follow her favorite player: Wie West.
“I was Michelle’s No. 1 biggest fan growing up,” said Wilson, whose father hails from Wie West’s home state of Hawaii. Wilson even has photos with Wie West from a decade ago.
“I showed them to her at dinner yesterday, probably made her feel old,” Wilson said, smiling.
Wie West grew up on the LPGA, becoming the youngest player to qualify for a tour event at age 12 at the Takefuji Classic. (The record was later broken by 11-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn in Thailand.) It wasn’t long before a teenage Wie West was contending at major championships and playing a global professional schedule. It’s hard to imagine that there’s anything today’s junior stars could ask that Wie West hasn’t experienced.
In fact, that’s Wie West’s biggest plea to the youngsters: Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
“Don’t be shy this week,” she tells them. “This is your chance to like, really get to know your mentors, really get to be with your role models.”
Of course, Wie West admits she often sat by herself or with her team when placed in a similar situation at tour events as a youngster.
“Someone had to come sit with me,” she said. “I was so scared to go up to a table with Juli Inkster and say, ‘Can I sit down?’ ”
Even so, Wie West wants the next generation to be more bold, reminding juniors that LPGA players are most likely waiting for them to ask questions.
“Pros, we like to share our wisdom, especially to a younger generation,” said Wie West, “but we’re not going to go up to someone and say, ‘Hey, do you want to hear five words of wisdom from me?’ It has to come from the juniors.
“The juniors have to initiate it, and that’s what we are teaching them, and I think that’s a great life lesson to be learned as well. To not be scared to ask for advice and for help. That’s something that I think young women should learn. I don’t think we learn it fast enough.”
Michelle Wie West congratulates Rose Zhang after winning the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
Last year, most of the questions Zhang fielded were about the transition from high school to college. This time around, she’ll be an official “big sister” at the Mizuho, and the questions will likely shift to what went into her decision to turn professional.
That’s the topic Wilson finds herself broaching most often with professions as the University of Oregon commit hears from tour players who excelled at the collegiate level and those who skipped it altogether.
Of course, there might be players in the field, Wie notes, who leave Liberty National thinking the professional life isn’t for them at all. Perhaps they’ll be inspired to explore one of the many professions that surround the game outside the ropes.
“I want this to be a safe place where you can figure those things out,” she said.
Mentorship programs at the Mizuho, however, aren’t limited to elite juniors.
This year’s tournament will also feature the inaugural Mizuho DrivHER Summit, a day-long program developed in conjunction with Girls Inc. that features speakers such as Wie West, LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, Stephanie J. Hull, President & CEO, Girls Inc., LPGA and AJGA players as well as Mizuho executives.
In 2023, Mizuho named Girls Inc. as the tournament’s charitable partner and awarded a three-year, $500,000 grant. For 160 years the organization has worked to equip girls, particularly from low-income communities and girls of color, with the knowledge and skills needed to change the trajectory of their lives.
Michelle Wie West plays her shot from the 18th tee during the second round of the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. (Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Last summer, Wie West teed it up in her final U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, even though her 10-year exemption from winning in 2014 technically runs out this year. She admits to playing only three rounds since Pebble, her days filling up quickly as a wife, mom and businesswoman.
The role as tournament host came more quickly than Wie West imagined, but she considers it to be a strong part of her legacy. She saw the passion that mentors like Beth Daniel, Meg Mallon and Karrie Webb had for the tour even after their competitive days had wound down and drew inspiration.
“When I was playing,” said Wie West, “I had nothing in me to give. I was in the mode of survival and trying to be the best player I could. At that point, I just kind of received.
“Then when it was my time to give, I take it very seriously. I mean, the game has given me so much. I just want to make it easier on them.”
Zhang has a new instructor ahead of the first women’s major of 2024.
THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Rose Zhang told Golfweek that she has a new instructor ahead of the 2024 Chevron Championship.
Todd Anderson, director of instruction at the PGA Tour’s Performance Center at TPC Sawgrass, has stepped in to help one of the LPGA’s hottest young stars.
George Pinnell has guided Zhang for the better part of a decade, and the pair knew this day would eventually come once she got out on tour. Pinnell runs a successful academy in Rowland Heights, California, and that responsibility along with some health issues keeps him from being able to travel as much as Zhang might need.
“George is probably going to Wilshire next week,” said Zhang of the tour’s next stop. “We’re still so close. He’ll be a mentor. He’s seen my swing for the past nine years.”
Zhang’s best friend from high school, Nicole Zhang, recently joined Pinnell’s coaching staff.
Billy Horschel jokes with golf instructor Todd Anderson on the practice range ahead of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Network)
Rose said Anderson came recommended by her team and the pair met for the first time at TPC Sawgrass earlier in the year. Anderson also attended Capitol One’s The Match. They’ve mostly worked on short game and putting so far and are still getting a feel for each other. Anderson also works with Billy Horschel, whom Zhang met during her initial visit.
“He’s is very straightforward, which I appreciate,” said Zhang of Anderson. “He has a very genuine passion for helping players get better. And he’s very open-minded, so he’s not exactly very egocentric and is willing to hear what you feel and what your thoughts are. So that open mindedness helps a lot. Because, for me, I think it’s important for the player to understand what he or she is doing. And the coach aids to that.”
Zhang has two top-10 finishes in four LPGA starts and recently wrapped up her winter quarter at Stanford. She’s currently taking a break from classes.
“I think every one of them thinks they have a chance.”
EVANS, Ga. — At this time last year, it was Rose Zhang celebration week at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Virginia’s Amanda Sambach wasn’t sure whether she should say this part out loud, but with Zhang in the field, it felt a bit like everyone was playing for second.
“This year,” said Sambach, the 2023 ACC champ, “I think there’s a lot up for grabs.”
Now in its fifth edition, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur boasts a major winner among its past champions in Jennifer Kupcho along with Zhang, who became the first player since Beverly Hanson in 1951 to win on the LPGA in her first professional start at the Mizuho Americas Open. Anna Davis, the super chill Auburn freshman who won this event as a 16-year-old two years ago, is the only former champion in the field.
This year’s seasoned field of 72 includes seven players who finished in the top 10 in 2024.
“I think every one of them thinks they have a chance,” said Florida State head coach Amy Bond, “and that it’s a wide open field. There’s no pure favorite.”
Forty-three players have competed previously in the ANWA, including Emilia Migliaccio, the only one to receive an invitation to all five events. Migliaccio, who lost in a playoff here in 2021, finished up her time at Wake Forest last spring with an NCAA team title.
After deciding to forgo professional golf, she has been trying to fit in a little practice in between her television work. The now married 24-year-old worked three tournaments in a row in the beginning of March – the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate for Golf Channel and the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship for PGA Tour Live.
“When I work in studio, there is a golf course that’s right by the hotel,” said Migliaccio, “so we get like an hour break so I’ll hit for 20 minutes in my first break and my second break, I’ll putt for 30. That’s how I’ve been practicing on the road.
“Obviously not a whole lot of time. I feel like I am getting creative on keeping my practice efficient, and then the last week and a half before ANWA I spent every day on the golf course, six seven hours playing a ton because haven’t had a lot of opportunities to play.”
The format for this year’s event remains the same, with the first two days held on Champions Retreat Golf Club on the Island and Bluffs nines. Many players actually consider Champions Retreat a tougher test than Augusta National.
The field will be cut to the top 30 and ties after Thursday’s round. Then the entire field will head to Augusta National for a practice round. This marks the first year the field will have a chance to play the Par 3 Course.
With thunderstorms forecasted for Wednesday morning, tee times might be pushed back for the opening round.
“I think this course plays different every year that I’ve come back,” said Rachel Kuehn, who is making her fourth appearance. Kuehn said she has never seen greens roll as perfectly as they do at Champions Retreat.
Asterisk Talley, 15, is the youngest player in the field, having celebrated a birthday on Feb. 15. Migliaccio, who turns 25 on April 24, is the oldest.
LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad chipped in for eagle on the par-5 eighth at Augusta National last year and birdied the ninth to finish up her Friday practice round. She then told her playing competitor that it would be her last round there. She’d finished in the top three on two different occasions at the ANWA, and after the missing the cut in 2023, the LSU senior thought she’d head on to LPGA Q-School and turn professional.
The No. 1 amateur in the world, Lindblad comes into Augusta fresh off a 10-stroke victory at the Clemson Invitational where she shot 66-67-65. She’s now the winningest player in SEC history with 14 titles.
“The first day I think I had 14 birdie putts within 20 feet,” she said.
Englemann admits she’d be lying if she said the lack of attention never bothered her.
Sadie Englemann used to bring her iPad to class in high school to watch the pros play Amen Corner on Masters.com during class. The surefooted Texan knew from a young age that she wanted to one day compete at the highest level.
Folks who follow women’s amateur golf even a little bit know two of Englemann’s highly decorated teammates at Stanford – Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck. They might even know Megha Ganne, who dazzled at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open when she played her way into the final group on Sunday as a high schooler.
But Englemann?
It’s tough to step out from the shadows cast by the greatest amateur player in the modern game (Zhang), and the hotshot golfer who will graduate as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force (Heck).
Englemann admits she’d be lying if she said the lack of attention never bothered her. A top-10 finish at a tournament barely gets a mention when her teammates are winning every week.
“But when it’s two of your best friends in the world,” said Englemann, “it’s hard to be jealous.”
Sadie Englemann (courtesy Stanford athletics)
Englemann, now in her senior year, came to the realization if she wanted that kind of spotlight, she’d have to raise her game.
Heading into her second Augusta National Women’s Amateur April 3-6, Englemann ranks 38th in the world and boasts back-to-back top-five finishes in her last two college starts. She’s the highest-ranked Cardinal of the four who qualified for the field. Heck, still plagued by a shoulder injury, is expected to play.
The two ANWA appearances will bookend Englemann’s career at Stanford. She missed the cut the first time around, but one gets the feeling her time is coming.
“Sadie absolutely loves golf,” said Stanford coach Anne Walker. “She eats, sleeps and breathes golf all day long. Because of that, she’s always wanting to get better. She’s obsessed about getting better.”
And her game since coming to Palo Alto, said Walker, is like night and day.
“I was a good player, and I had some success in my junior career,” said Englemann, “but I was also a hothead. Anyone would tell you that.”
Unable to control her emotions on the course, a bad stretch of holes would invariably balloon into a bad round. It’s not that she gave up on the round.
“I would try so hard to get back to even par,” she explained, “that I would blow up mentally.”
A more mature Englemann has learned how to stabilize herself, pointing to significant progress in recent months.
From a technical standpoint, Walker rerouted Englemann’s swing to help her play with a fade. Englemann came to Stanford hitting a draw that sometimes became uncontrollable.
While she doesn’t have a textbook swing, Walker notes, Englemann is comfortable with her own style and has learned much about her game. In 2022, Englemann helped the Cardinal win the team NCAA title.
“To play at the highest level,” said Walker, “you have to know yourself well.”
Englemann, who will graduate in June with a degree in science, technology and society, was starstruck at her first U.S. Women’s Open last summer at Pebble Beach. At the same time, the exposure gave her confirmation she could perform among the best in the world.
Zhang won her first LPGA start as a professional last spring after claiming both the ANWA and NCAA titles.
Englemann notes that Walker never gave Zhang special treatment at Stanford. She qualified for tournaments like everyone else.
When Walker talked to the media, Englemann continued, she never focused on one player. The chemistry felt among the Stanford players – with Zhang at the center – was strong, and it was real.
Zhang propelled everyone around her to get better.
“Freshman year Sadie would’ve gone (to ANWA) just overwhelmed by the stage and all the great players,” said Walker. “Almost feeling like she was an outsider looking in.