Rose Zhang on the 9th tee during the 78th U.S. Women's Open Championship in Pebble Beach, Calif., on Thursday, July 6, 2023. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Fans flocking to Pebble Beach for this weekend’s U.S. Women’s Open should just head to the legendary 17th hole — perhaps to see a legend-in-the-making comeback.
That is where ex-Stanford star Rose Zhang already has done her best work.
And that is, of course, where other special moments have happened in U.S. Open history, albeit on the men’s side with Jack Nicklaus’ 1-iron in 1972 and Tom Watson’s chip-in a decade later.
Zhang’s 1-under round Friday thrust her back into contention, but, first, she had to get back on on the right side of the cut line, and that happened at the 17th hole.
After enduring an 18-hole stretch without a birdie, Zhang put on sunglasses, walked up to the 17th green, and rolled in a 10-foot birdie. That offset a bogey on the 16h hole, and it gave her momentum for her ensuing 10 holes; she started Friday’s round on the 10th tee.
What Zhang did Thursday on the 17th made for a viral highlight: a daring chip from one side of the hourglass-shaped green to the other, with her ball rolling tantalizingly close to the hole en route to a par. She finished 2-over for that round.
Two bogeys on Friday’s first seven holes had Zhang careening in the wrong direction. Then came the 17th hole, and more birdies (hole Nos. 2 and 6), and no more bogeys. Hers was only the eighth sub-par round Friday when she walked off in a tie for 22nd place, with about half the field still on the course.
Zhang, 20, may not lead the tournament, but she remains its marquee attraction, having recently defended her NCAA Championship on her way out of Stanford before winning her pro debut last month in New Jersey.
Friday’s early frustrations centered on, well, an inability to hit the center of greens. She hit just 9-of-18 greens in regulation. Several approaches came up short, some into bunkers. But the friendlier front-nine saw her drop in birdie putts on Nos. 2 and 6, and she almost delivered another birdie on No. 7 until her back-rough chip ricocheted off the pin.
Zhang missed the cut in her 2021 and ’22 U.S. Women’s Open, those sandwiched between a 55th-place tie in 2019 and 40th-place tie last year.
What does she need for a weekend rally? Well, a six-under 30 on the front-nine would make a great start. This is precisely what she did last September en route to Pebble Beach’s women’s course record (9-under 63) while representing Stanford in the inaugural Carmel Cup.
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First off the tee Friday was Bailey Tardy, and after her 5-under front-nine, she emerged with a share of the lead at 7-under overall, along with Hyo Joo Kim. “I definitely have the game to hang with the best in the world,” said Tardy, who planned to take a drive along Big Sur and grab a cup of coffee in Carmel before returning for Round 3.
Tardy is a former University of Georgia standout who won a qualifier in a playoff last month in Minnesota. She did not make the cut in three previous U.S. Women’s Open – including 2016 at CordeValle in San Martin – so she was sure to soak up this week’s start and scenery, such as the sea otters and dogs. “The dogs, oh my gosh, I love dogs. I have one myself. The dogs on (hole Nos.) 9 and 10, they’re amazing,” Tardy said. “There’s probably 15 dogs down there having the time of their life running in sand and water. My caddie and I were talking about what good boys they are fetching sticks.”
Originally published at Cam Inman