NAPLES (Fla.) — The “What’s in my bag” list of Rose Zhang at the NCAA Championship this year was unlike any other.
Zhang revealed to reporters at the CME Group Tour Championship season finale that Rachel Heck had put her rib in Zhang’s bag after a practice round held in Scottsdale, Arizona. They shared a room at NCAAs.
Zhang said, “It’s safe to say I didn’t carry it throughout the tournament, but I can tell that that rib stayed in my golf bag solidly for 24 hours.” We came back, and we thought that was the least disturbing thing we could do with her rib.
Heck, the 2021 NCAA Champion, had her first rib removed in March for thoracic outlets syndrome. Heck took the rib with her to NCAAs, in the jar that doctors placed it in in spring. She took it to ROTC training at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama over the summer.
Stanford’s Rachel Heck and Rose Zhang at the 2022 NCAA Championship. (Photo: Darren Reese/Stanford)
Zhang joked about taking the rib back to Stanford during winter quarter, and sneaking it into Heck’s bag.
Zhang went on to win the Mizuho Open in her debut as a professional, before clinching a second NCAA Championship.
Zhang laughed and said, “I can tell that she was literally part of my journey in the NCAAs.”
