By: Max Bechtoldt
Lucky No. 13 is a player who will look to have a bit more luck in her second Solheim Cup appearance. Playing on home soil should help the 21-year-old instant superstar, Rose Zhang.
Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat, the 2023 Solheim Cup was a disappointment for Zhang. She also had way too much pressure to perform on her. Instantly anointed the future of the United States Solheim Cup team, she wasn’t even expected to be eligible for the event. But, with her historic win in her first ever event, she made her way on the team.
Zhang went 0-2-1 on the week. She ran into the match play wizard Leona Maguire in Sunday singles, which she should be given a break for. Elsewhere she halved a match with Megan Khang and lost one with Andrea Lee. She did not play at all in the foursomes sessions.
The advantage for Rose though is she has blossomed even more as a player in 2024, and has a lot more experience under her belt. Though her results in majors haven’t been as strong as 2023, she’s been a remarkably consistent performer.
Rose has risen into the top-10 of the Rolex Rankings, thanks in large part to her win at the Founders Cup, one of the most dominant performances of the season. She has an additional three top-10 finishes and has few results outside of the top 30. She also made the United States Olympic team, and performed terrifically for three rounds.
One other concern about Rose is her performance at the Shadow Creek match play. An event where she dominated the stroke play portion, before being soundly defeated in the first round of match play.
Rose has a lot to prove this Solheim Cup, perhaps the most of anyone on either team, but I have confidence she will turn in a better performance this time around.
See more rankings here: https://golfnewsforeall.com/tag/solheim-cup/
