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JERSEY CITY, New Jersey – William Knauth arrived on the first tee in time to see Rose Zhang strike her first shot – a beauty – down the first hole at Liberty National. Knauth is pursuing a doctorate in statistics now at Columbia University in New York City, and he walked all 18 holes with Zhang, marveling at her consistency. Last year, Knauth became only the second Division III player to ever win the Byron Nelson Award. Last month, he played in his first professional tournament at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Why was Knauth on the tee at 8:43 a.m.?
“Because Rose Zhang is only going to get one first pro round,” he said, “and I wanted to be able to say I was there.”
There’s a sense by many that the opening round at the Mizuho Americas Open could signal the start of one of the LPGA’s great careers. Zhang’s first-round, 2-under 70, capped by a birdie on the 18th hole, was so close to being so much better. Lauren Hartlage paces the field atop the leaderboard after a spotless 7-under 65, and Zhang finds herself currently inside the top 10.
Zhang called her debut a “moderately casual” round, which is on brand for a player who likes to keep things simple. She was grateful for an early tee time so that she could get into her routine straight away and settle the nerves.
She hugged Stanford coach Anne Walker before walking to the first tee, where tournament host Michelle Wie West stood in the bleachers to film Zhang’s opening shot, cheering the loudest of all for a fellow Cardinal who could rock the women’s game much like she did two decades ago. Zhang said Wie West told her to go out there and “do you.”
“I was a little surprised that there were people out there,” said Zhang. “You know, it’s early in the morning. It’s a Thursday. I don’t expect anyone to be out here and be like, ‘Oh, go Rose.’
“I guess there is a lot of significance to this round, for me in particular, but I felt really just loved out there. I think everyone, every single putt I made, every single shot that I hit, it got a lot of little claps, little cheers.”
Zhang, the most decorated amateur player in modern history, recorded her first birdie as a professional on the second hole when she drained an 8-footer. Did the moment register?
“Definitely not, because I – you know, as a golfer, you know, there are so many holes after that you can get a birdie on one hole and then triple the next,” she said.
“So I’m just keeping everything into…
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