AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

March 28, 2023

Rose Zhang

Quick Quotes

Q. How exciting is it to have another shot at this tournament at full strength?

ROSE ZHANG: It's super exciting. I think that this course and this entire venue is a testament to the game of golf. I'm just super excited to be out here and compete with all of the best amateurs in the world.

And it's Augusta National. It can't get any better.

Q. You've had a lot of really hot stretches in your career. Where does these last few months -- I mean, five wins in seven starts in college, five out of six, where does this rank amongst the heaters you've been on?

ROSE ZHANG: To be fair, I feel like for the most part I've been so busy with balancing school life and golf, that these past couple weeks haven't felt like hot stretches.

I've definitely been grinding in every single event, and I feel like coming out on top just shows that I'm able to have the grind, and I'm able to commit to every single shot and try my best to put up a good score for my team and the school in general.

I haven't really thought about it as a super hot streak. I continue to kind of have that mindset going into tomorrow.

Q. You were talking about that. Could you maybe sum up what the course load has been like and why it's been so busy.

ROSE ZHANG: It's been pretty hectic this past winter quarter. I've taken 21 units of classes. It's definitely my heaviest load in the past couple quarters that I've been at Stanford.

So just trying to balance that out and be able to get the schoolwork in, in addition to traveling for the team, is something that I've been trying to go back and forth for.

But I think overall it's been a great quarter. It's been very fulfilling. I've been very blessed to take the classes that I want to take and in addition travel with my team and put up a couple good scores in each tournament.

Q. How do you unwind or recharge from the stresses of school when you've got stresses of huge events?

ROSE ZHANG: I would say you recharge whenever you can. Whenever you get the chance, a little break means a lot. I get my massages in, get my PT work, and that's pretty essential for any athlete.

Q. Anything fun?

ROSE ZHANG: Anything fun? I would say I love hanging out with my friends. We go to eating spots in the area. I would say a hike here and there.

Most of all, it's just being able to kind of have a chill moment and getting to enjoy each other's presence. I think I don't really do much. I think everything's just it comes and it goes.

Q. And then you've accomplished -- I think people would argue there's not much left for you to accomplish at the amateur level, but this is kind of the one glaring thing. Would that be correct? This is the one tournament that's itching at you that you haven't won yet?

ROSE ZHANG: Yes. I would say in terms of resume the ANWA is a title I haven't achieved yet. So it's really cool to be able to be here and get another go at it.

I don't really think much about these things. I feel like I've been really thankful to even place well the last couple years. So right now my forefront goal is to make that cut.

Q. What's something that you didn't do well maybe the last few years? Maybe the last couple years because 2019 was four years ago, and you were just that little. What's one thing you don't think you did well the last couple years that you'd want to correct?

ROSE ZHANG: I feel like I played pretty well on Champions Retreat, but I feel like I faltered when it came to the final round at Augusta National. All three years actually. So I think that's kind of where I didn't capitalize on my positions.

But that's kind of another story for now. I think that the next two days are still going to be really grueling, and you never know what you get at Champions Retreat.

With that in mind, even though the last couple of years I've been playing a lot at Champions for the most part, you still have to stay in the moment to be able to execute every shot here.

Q. Lastly, some people have described your game, like watching you play as you make golf look easy or effortless. Does it seem that way when you're out there?

ROSE ZHANG: No. I think it's far from it. I don't know where other people are getting that from. Maybe it's just my personality to be pretty nonchalant about everything.

Don't worry, it's a grueling round out there, and I'm trying my best on every single shot.

I guess it's flattering to have other people think that I make the game look easy, but I think in my opinion it's a little far from it.