Rose Zhang is making her first professional start at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship this week. She’s just as big a star at Baltusrol, given how her debut as a professional went two weeks ago. 1 Jin Young Ko.
Zhang won the LPGA’s Mizuho Americas Open on her debut as a professional, making history by becoming the first woman to achieve such a feat in 51. The 20-year old American is expected to perform at a high level.
Zhang is the most decorated amateur of the modern game. With three majors remaining on her schedule and LPGA membership, it’s only natural that she thinks big.
She rose to No. After her victory at Liberty National she is ranked No. 61, but does not appear on any of the LPGA point lists for the U.S. Solheim Cup Team, Player of Year, or Rookie.
Zhang is at a huge disadvantage in the year-end awards if he does not receive the 150 points for the Rookie Race or the 30 points for the POY Race.
If she were given points, she would be tied for 14th place in the POY and fourth in the rookie race. Hae Ran Ryu, from South Korea, is the leader in the rookie standings. She has 381 points after 10 starts. Ryu has finished in the top 10 four times this season, but has not won.
The LPGA has changed its rules so that any non-member who wins on the tour after accepting membership receives official points and money. Sophia Popov accepted her tour membership after winning the 2020 AIG Women’s British Open. She started at zero. She didn’t receive any official money and earned no points towards the CME Race to the Globe. This kept her from the ANA Inspiration Tour Championship and the CME Group Tour Championship.
The LPGA did not make the change until next year.
Rose Zhang of the United States acknowledges the crowd after her putt on the second green during the final round of the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club on June 4, 2023, in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The Popov rule allowed Zhang to earn 500 CME points for her victory at Mizuho. She is currently 27th place in this race. She didn’t get any points for anything else.
Nancy Lopez was the first player to win the Vare Trophy, LPGA Player of the year, and Rookie of the year in the same season. Nine wins in one season is a remarkable feat. It’s unlikely to be repeated.
Zhang’s Mizuho points for victories are not included in the Rookie of Year award this year. She could even be in the running for Player of the year, given her consistency.
A LPGA spokesperson responded to a question about why points were only applied to the CME race and not anywhere else. “As we do with all of our regulations, as a team, we’ll review and make any necessary changes to benefit the LPGA as well as the membership.” The proposed changes won’t be retroactive since the 2023 LPGA and 2023-2024 Solheim Cup qualification periods have already begun.
Zhang can compete in Spain regardless of the Rolex Rankings or captain’s selections. The LPGA can make changes to the Rookie and Player of Year races at any time.
Zhang was the first non-member to win a championship in 2021. It’s possible that many people didn’t know the rules for non-members until Zhang won. Maja Stark won in Northern Ireland last summer as a non member and did not receive any Rookie or Player of Year points.
It would be better to make the changes in the middle of the game to ensure that the point system rewards the player who wins the most events.
The LPGA system should celebrate excellence, not limit it. It is subjective to decide on awards at the end of each year, but a points-based system removes that. However, the system will fail if points are not distributed correctly.
This needs to be fixed.
