Sweet Rose In Augusta
Sweet Rose In Augusta
Zhang adds ANWA to victories in the U.S. Amateur and NCAA. Plus, a first course look, Cam Smith on need for LIV to have a week, Gary Player whines, notables missing from Interview schedule and more.
Most golfers would not choose the back nine of a tournament they dearly want to win to make a grip change. And at Augusta National on a blustery final day with pursuers better handling the brutal conditions. Unless you’re the accomplished Rose Zhang, determined to win the only major amateur title not already in one of the more impressive trophy collections the modern women’s game has seen.
Opening the Augusta National Women’s Amateur with rounds of 66-65 at Champions Retreat, Zhang carried a five-stroke lead into the final day over Andrea Lignell where she struggled before, during and after a midday storm to find much semblance of her normally lights-out game. Adding to the tension were understandable first tee jitters following the tournament’s (unusual) day off for the field to enjoy Augusta National. Oh, and then there was Zhang’s sense that a five-stroke lead was not enough.
“A ten-shot lead is not enough,” she said. “Every single hole mattered. You could easily triple any hole on this golf course.”
Spotting and hugging Stanford buddy Condoleeza Rice seated near the first tee with other Augusta National female members, Zhang took comfort in a warm welcome from her small rooting section that included teammate Rachel Heck. Yet Zhang’s jittery opening tee shot finished in the deep fairway bunker and she opened with double bogey to reduce the lead to three.
The wildly talented sophomore, the first high profile NIL signee by adidas and Callaway, admitted she’s not always viewed as human.
“There was this joke in freshman year, my teammates would probably not agree with me now, but everyone thought that I was dead inside,” she laughed. “I understand that not a lot of people agree with that now, but it was the whole joke in my freshman dorm that Rose just doesn't have any emotion. She's just dead inside.”
Her infallibility became apparent Saturday while scraping it around Augusta National’s front nine. Zhang reached the 8th hole four over-par when the horns sounded just after 10:30 a.m.
A 3 hour and 20 minute delay ensued and when play restarted, Zhang still searched for something. Anything.
“I do a scan through in my mind on what I need to get done, on what I need to work on from setup to ball position, grip, everything,” she said of her process if things go bad. “When things weren't feeling comfortable, it was kind of an ‘aha’ moment where I was like, ‘my grip! It's my right hand!’ So I made it a little weaker, and that allowed me to get my driver back on track.”
Not until a 13th hole third shot did the light bulb go off. By weakening her grip, arguably the toughest of all adjustments to get comfortable with on the fly or, in a week of ten hour range sessions, the “devil” in her bag immediately improved with clutch tee shots the rest of the way. But the grip change still did not trickle down to the rest of the 19-year-old’s bag.
A fairway metal shot from 208 yards into the 15th followed an animated conversation with her dad and caddie about going for the green (dad wanted her to lay up). Seeking a boost, Zhang overruled him and hit a low drawing mess into the pond.
An ensuing six-foot bogey putt probably salvaged her day.
“If I didn't make that, that would have probably been the end of me, in terms of everything that happened.”
Zhang eventually posted a 76 in Sunday’s blustery conditions where just three players broke par (Bae/70, Baba/70, Fernandez Garcia-Poggio/71). Bae used the crowd energy from fellow Georgia Bulldogs to play her final six holes 2-under-par, highlighted by a stunning second at the 17th where only a tap-in awaited. Another key par putt at the last got her to the clubhouse at 9-under-par, good enough to force a sudden death playoff when Zhang parred 18.
Returning to the 18th tee, both hit huge drives well past the fairway bunkers but Bae had the only realistic chance at three. Zhang made an impressive two-putt from the lower tier. Baie left her birdie putt short. The pair moved to the 10th tee where each hit solid drives. Bae pulled her second into the camellias and made a miraculous bogey. Zhang hit the green in two but faced a tricky downhiller for the two-putt and win.
After a long wait as Bae got a ruling and scrambled for five. Eventually Zhang nestled the putt down to tap-in range. She could finally relax.
Just one of three players to compete in the first four Augusta National Women Amateurs and make the final day each time, Zhang captured the elusive trophy.
“Being able to play competitively at Augusta National is certainly different from any other venue that I've played in,” she said. “To overcome everything, I'm just super grateful to be here.”
Zhang has now won the 2020 U.S. Women's Amateur, the 2021 U.S. Girls' Junior and the 2022 NCAA Championship to go along with the 2023 “ANWA”.
Turns, out, she’s also not dead inside.
“I’m very much human.”
Zhang By The Numbers
66-65-76-
33 of 42 fairways 79%
Greens in regulation 41/54 76%
1 eagle, 14, birdies, 5 bogeys, 1 double
-1 par 3s -5 par’4s, -3 par-5s
Also…
Initial Course Observations
There was already a wet feel underfoot before Saturday’s storms blew through. It’s going to play long. The revelations you pay for!
The greens were a bit firmer and faster than in past ANWA’s, likely in anticipation of the rain coming.
The 15th lake bank has seen slightly different presentations over the years. , A very tight cut this year stood out after Antonia Malate’s final round 9 where, after the rain, two of her shots spun back into the pond upon landing into the middle of the green.
Flora and fauna watchers should not get hopes up for massive splashes of color. Most of the on-course azaleas appear to have already peaked, but the white and pink dogwood are hanging in.
Oh my is that new 13th tee far back! I’ll have some photos in Tuesday’s edition, but we have the first official MillerBrown shot (above).
Cam Smith: Important For LIVsters To Play Well
“Is it important for LIV [golfers to play well at the majors]? … I think it is important for us to go there and really show a high standard of golf, which we know we're all capable of.”
Curiously, he’s setting a bit of a bar given the likelihood of less LIV player participation in majors after 2023.
“Most of us [LIV golfers] will get four cracks at it this year [in majors], and hopefully we can get a win out of it,” Smith said. “Maybe we just show a really hearty effort. I think for us, internally, it's the right thing. There's a lot of chatter going around about ‘these guys don't play real golf anymore’ and I think it's BS to be honest and we just want show people that.”
Not that many needed the encouragement, but plan on dedicated daily LIV scoreboards.