PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Although this is the first U.S. Women’s Open contested at Pebble Beach, Rose Zhang is intimately familiar with the course.
Back in the fall, when she was still competing collegiately for Stanford, Zhang and her Cardinal teammates competed at Pebble in the Carmel Cup. Zhang won the individual crown (of course) as Stanford took the team title by 13 strokes.
“It was super incredible,” she said. “It was just a super exciting week for everyone.”
Coming home with two pieces of hardware is always nice, but the most impressive part of the week was Zhang’s performance in the second round as she fired a nine-under 63, setting the women’s course record at the famed tournament venue.
She hit every green during her bogey-free round, making seven birdies and an eagle, including a closing birdie at the 18th to set the record.
“It came as a blur,” Zhang said. “It was just a pretty dreamy week.”
It was the sort of round that will go down in the history books, and one that is a hot talking point as Zhang prepares for her first U.S. Women’s Open as a pro this week.
Shredding a course of this caliber will give anyone fond memories. But one of her favorite memories from that week — including her favorite hole — didn’t have anything to do with the shots she was hitting.
“No. 4 is just such a pretty hole, and I love that hole so much,” Zhang said. “In the Carmel Cup, we saw [a] dog trying to chase a seal for like a good 40 minutes. And especially on 4, 5, and 6, that’s where everyone is waiting for a lot of shots. There is a lot of wait time there. So we were just watching an owner screaming at its dog and just trying to get that dog to come back.”
Zhang, normally calm and measured in front of the media, couldn’t help but crack a smile as she told the tale on Tuesday. And who can blame her? Even in the midst of a career round, sometimes the best memories come from the spontaneity of people-watching.
Adding another circle to the card helps, too.
“A lot of good memories on that hole,” Zhang said. “[But] it helps that I was birdieing.”
