Rose Zhang shoots career-low score in the first round of the Maybank Championship
Rose Zhang has been impressive at the 2023 LPGA Maybank Championship and currently reserves the T3 position. The 20-year-old had an exceptional amateur career where she won the 2020 US Women's Amateur. However, she built up on that and even competed at the US Women's Open.
Interestingly, her best round of golf came in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she shot her lowest score yet in the first round of the championship. She shot a 7-under 65 that managed to get her on the T3 position, just two strokes behind the leader Thidapa Suwannapura.
Rose Zhang was elated after her performance in the first round and hopes to improve in the second round. However, she was also worried about the looming danger of rain that could have stopped play.
“I’m super happy, especially going into the last hole. I knew we were cutting it close [with the rain]."
Zhang added via sbnation.com:
“I was telling Ollie we had to speed up. Please let the rain stay away for just a little bit. I played solid. Overall, it was a very solid day.”
Rose Zhang currently shares her position with experienced golfers such as Linn Grant, who had a spectacular Solheim Cup performance.
Rose Zhang wants to stay commited following an exceptional first round
The 2023 LPGA Tour Maybank Championship is off to a great start where the underdogs are currently on top of the leaderboard. Although the championship lineup includes many prominent golfers from the LPGA Tour, it is Rose Zhang who delivered her career best performance while maintaining the T3 position.
However, Zhang remains focussed and is aiming for a strong finish at the end of all the rounds. The American golfer also recognized the talented lineup of golfers around her but wants to stay committed to the process.
“I know that there are so many great players out here, so it’s really important to stay aggressive and committed. That’s what I really tried to do, and ultimately the short stick has to work, so that really helped me today,” she said.
Zhang's seven birdies and zero bogies have kept her in contention. However, she faces stiff competition from other talented golfers in the inaugural Maybank Championship.