Top amateur Rose Chang makes professional debut at US Women’s Open

After breaking numerous records as a female amateur, Rose Zhang has announced her professional debut.

She will make her professional debut at the 78th U.S. Women’s Open in July as a special invitee. She will follow that up with a special invite to the AIG Women’s Open in August.

The United States Golf Association (USGA) announced today that Rose Chang has earned a special invitation to play in the major, which will take place July 6-9 at Pebble Beach Links in California. This will be the 20-year-old’s fifth consecutive appearance in the event.

The invitation was also extended to Rose by the Royal Golf Association (R&A). While her original amateur status is forfeited when she turns professional, it’s the first time the world’s two governing bodies have granted a player of her stature a special invitation.

“Competing in the U.S. Women’s Open is always a special experience, and to be invited to Pebble Beach is a true honor,” said Rose Chang. “This is an important moment for our sport, and I’m very grateful to the USGA for the opportunity to be a part of it.”

The three-time McCormack Medal winner, which is awarded to the top amateur player, will turn professional in September 2020 after holding the top spot in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking for 141 consecutive weeks. The record
The previous record for the longest amateur streak at No. 1 was 135 weeks by Leona Maguire (IRL) in 2018.

Zhang, who won the Annika Award in 2022 and 2023 and the NCAA individual title in 2022 and 2023, had a stellar amateur career, winning the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur, the 2021 U.S. Women’s Junior and the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Her 12 wins in just 20 NCAA tournament appearances are the most in Stanford history.

Rose Chang competes at the AIG Women’s Open [Photo: R&A].

“The U.S. Women’s Open is the premier stage for the best players, and we are honored to welcome Rose Chang to Pebble Beach for her once-in-a-generation amateur career,” said USGA Chief Championship Officer John Bodenheimer. “With the first of many U.S. Women’s Open events at Pebble Beach and young, talented players like Rose, the future of the women’s game is bright.” 메이저사이트

Rose joins Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam and South Korea’s So Yeon Yoo in receiving a special exemption. This year’s event attracted a record number of qualifiers, with 2107 players applying to compete.

Rose Chang’s professional debut was covered by Golf Channel, among others, as she entered the professional ranks at the peak of her career. Not only are the majors looking to invite him, but so are the tournaments, so if he wins one of them, he’ll qualify.

After breaking numerous records as a female amateur, Rose Zhang has announced her professional debut. She will make her professional debut at the 78th U.S. Women’s Open in July as a special invitee. She will follow that up with a special invite to the AIG Women’s Open in August. The United States Golf Association (USGA)…