Is Rose Zhang eligible to play LPGA Tour major championships? Breakout star’s major qualification status explored
Rose Zhang made her LPGA Tour debut with a victory at the Mizuho Americas Open by beating Jennifer Kupcho in an incredible playoff on Sunday, June 5. She impressed people with her amazing performance at the LPGA Tour event and earned praise from golfers and fans around the globe.
This year, golf fans will be treated to more Zhang games. She has qualified for all five major tournaments and will compete in the US Women's Open and the Evian Championship later this summer.
The LPGA Tour shared the good news on their Twitter account, saying:
"@KPMGWomensPGA, @usopengolf, @AIGWomensOpen, @EvianChamp. You'll see plenty of @rosezhang."
- @KPMGWomensPGA
- @usopengolf
- @AIGWomensOpen
- @EvianChamp
You'll see plenty of @rosezhang this summer 🌹😎 https://t.co/0m2Wgxzu3s
A couple of fans jumped into the comments section to laud praises and wrote:
"And for her next feat, Rose might just win a major. Why not? With all the LIV drama infecting the men's game, the LPGA is the best tour out there for professional golf at the highest level."
@LPGA @KPMGWomensPGA @usopengolf @AIGWomensOpen @EvianChamp @rosezhang And for her next feat, Rose might just win a major. Why not? With all the LIV drama infecting the men's game, the LPGA is the best tour out there for professional golf at the highest level.
"It’s going to be a fun summer watching the majors. Pebble Beach and Baltusrol among the great venues," another one chimed.
@LPGA @KPMGWomensPGA @usopengolf @AIGWomensOpen @EvianChamp @rosezhang It’s going to be a fun summer watching the majors. Pebble Beach and Baltusrol among the great venues.
Rose Zhang finished with a scoring deficit of nine and tied up with Jennifer Kupcho after the fourth round at the Mizuho Americas Open. They competed in the playoffs and made a par-4 on the first hole. However, on the second hole, Zhang made a par-3 while Kupcho made a par-4.
Rose Zhang enters top 100 in World Rankings
Rose Zhang's incredible performance at the Mizuho Americas Open comes up with a lot of advantages. She became eligible for the Solheim Cup and made an incredible leap of 420 places to No.62 in the Rolex Women's Golf Rankings after winning the Mizuho Americas Open.
Zhang defended the NCAA individual event earlier this year. She became the first women golfer in history to win two consecutive NCAA events and she made her debut on the LPGA Tour with a victory.
Speaking about her performance, Rose Zhang said:
"You guys will see me more on the LPGA Tour, as I am taking membership from now on, and I'll be playing in 2023. I just can only say that this is just amazing, and I'm really just in a place where I want to improve myself, and I want to keep on doing better and better. So we'll be seeing what I do in the future. As of now, I'm just soaking it all in."
Rose Zhang had competed in four of the major events during her amateur career. She played at the Chevron Championship in 2020 and finished in 11th position. She also competed at the Evian Championship in 2021 and finished in 58th place in the tournament.
In 2022, Zhang played at the US Women's Open and Women's British Open, finishing 40th and 28th place respectively.
During her amateur career, Rose Zhang played at numerous tournaments and became one of the youngest players to play at the Augusta National Women's Amateur in 2019. She competed at the US Women's Open in 2019 at the age of 16.