The Opening Ceremony at the 2024 Olympics took place in Paris, France, on Friday evening, and while soon-to-be Olympian Rose Zhang was unable to attend the festivities, watching the event from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is getting the young talent excited to compete in her first Games in just under two weeks’ time.
“It's still a little surreal. I think I will have to go there and actually experience myself what it's like to be an Olympian to even think about it,” said Zhang. “I've watched the opening ceremonies basically every Olympics, so this is kind of like, oh, Olympics are happening. I think when you go overseas, and I am actually there, the feeling may be different.”
But that’s a future concern for Zhang. Right now, the 21-year-old is focused on the CPKC Women’s Open and is working to improve upon her T41 showing Zhang recorded in her tournament debut in 2023.
At the moment, Zhang is well on her way to doing just that through two rounds at Earl Grey Golf Club, as she has carded a pair of 71s on Thursday and Friday in Canada to sit four shots back of 36-hole leader Lauren Coughlin in a tie for seventh at 2-under overall.
Day one saw the former Stanford University Cardinal card two bogeys and three birdies on holes three, four and eight en route to posting a 1-under 71 in the first round.
Zhang then helped herself to another serving of consistency on Friday, this time making two bogeys and three birdies on holes one, eight and 16 to record her second straight 71, an effort that the young superstar was pleased with considering how difficult Earl Grey Golf Club has been playing so far at the CPKC Women’s Open.
“I think I fought pretty well when I was out there,” Zhang said after Friday play. “The wind picked up a little bit throughout the round. I tried to stay as composed as possible, make sure that my tempo and all my shots are as committed as can be. So, I’m very satisfied and glad to be heading into the weekend.
“It's very tricky, like all the players said. I'm expecting the golf course to firm up a little bit more with the wind, and the conditions are probably going to be trickier.”
But Zhang knows how to play well at tricky venues. She won her first LPGA Tour event in her professional debut last year at the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club, outlasting Jennifer Kupcho in a playoff after the pair matched four-day totals of 9-under in Jersey City.
Her second career LPGA Tour victory came earlier this season at the Cognizant Founders Cup at Upper Montclair Country Club, and while Zhang and Madelene Sagstrom made the course look easy after posting 72-hole scores of 24-under and 22-under, respectively, that venue can also present some challenges, namely narrow tee shots and tricky greens.
Armed with those positive past experiences, Zhang is ready to put the pedal down on the weekend at Earl Grey Golf Club and try to climb further into contention over the next 36 holes, knowing full well exactly what she needs to do to be successful at this golf course.
“Recently 2-under would've probably missed the cut or barely made it, considering what everyone has been doing the past couple of weeks,” said Zhang when asked if she was surprised about how high scores were on days one and two. “I think it shows a true testament to how difficult the course is playing. Any slight error leads to a bogey or even worse. So just making sure that you come out with your best grit and also making sure you take your medicine every now and then, I think that's going to be key.”
This is Zhang’s 12th event of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and along with her victory in Clifton, N.J., she has earned two other top-10 results – a tie for seventh that came at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and a tie for fifth that came at the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards.
While Zhang hasn’t been playing as well as she maybe would’ve liked to lately – she hasn’t finished any better than T29 since her win at the Cognizant Founders Cup – the California native has been keeping her expectations in check, knowing that it’s just a matter of time before she once again turns a corner.
And a solid showing at this week’s CPKC Women’s Open just might provide the momentum that Zhang needs to get the train back on the tracks and feel confident in her Olympic debut, igniting a fire in the young American as she tries to wow the world on the biggest stage in all of sports at Le Golf National starting August 7.
“I think no matter what, you can always take good momentum out of good weeks,” Zhang said. “Me personally, I know that I have it in me, so it does give me a bit of momentum and a bit of confidence to do what I need to do (in Paris.)”
The @cpkcwomensopen is a two-time tournament of year for a reason ✌️ pic.twitter.com/tCtoKWAkiM
— LPGA (@LPGA) July 25, 2024