AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

March 30, 2022

Rose Zhang

Quick Quotes

Q. How was today?

ROSE ZHANG: I would say that today definitely wasn't -- today was just a little bit rough. I felt like it was just really hard to get my numbers right. Whenever I hit a really good shot, it would be a very unlucky bounce. The greens today were very tough to read for me. So I think overall it was definitely a grind out there. There's a lot to work on.

Q. Did you think it was just a matter of just bad luck, or was there something off with your swing or anything like that?

ROSE ZHANG: Yes, I definitely think it's skill set. I came into this event not having the sharpest game. You really have to just place your ball correctly on this course, and if you're not able to do that, you're going to shoot high numbers very easily, and that's just what I did.

Q. You've obviously dealt with pressure your entire life. You have a number of people who expect you to win. How difficult is it at a tournament like this to step on the 1st tee not having your best stuff and knowing you've got to go out there and people expect you to win?

ROSE ZHANG: Yeah, it's definitely difficult. You just have to keep yourself in the right mindset, and that's just what I've been trying to do. I already knew that going into this event it's going to be a grind, and I'm continuing to have that mindset. Tomorrow's definitely not going to be an easy day, especially with the weather. So I'm just going to have to go out there and really play my best.

I don't really think about those expectations, but it definitely is lingering sometimes.

Q. Making the birdie on the last, how key is that knowing what you've got to do tomorrow and maybe the conditions might be different but hard tomorrow too?

ROSE ZHANG: Yes, any stroke on this golf course is needed. Just being able to have that putt go in on the last hole, it really sets the mood for tomorrow's round. Just have to work on a couple things and tomorrow should be good to go.

Q. It's been a while since you've been sort of in this position of chasing to try to move up the leaderboard. You've been in the top ten pretty much every time since last summer. Does that take a different mindset going into a second round knowing there's a cut to be made tomorrow too?

ROSE ZHANG: Not really. I feel like going into every single event I always had that mindset. So I never really thought about me having to be in a position on top of the leaderboard and then just going after that. It's more of keep your ball in check, keep your golf game under control, and that's exactly what my mindset is going into tomorrow. So I don't really think about that leaderboard a lot.

Q. You mentioned that you don't think about the expectations a lot either, but do you have any on yourself when you come to this event where you really had a chance last year? Are you hungrier maybe here than you might be normally?

ROSE ZHANG: Yeah, I feel like I'm always hungry for just being better at my golf game. I don't really think about just having to win. I feel like that is a mindset that can actually kill you on the golf course. So I try not to think about that a lot.

But I think that last year was great, year before was great as well. I'm just going to have those memories in mind and really just try to play my best tomorrow.

Q. I wanted to ask you about your hat, the Callaway. I know you signed an NIL with them. How nice is it to have that? And what does it mean to you to have that with you as you continue your college career?

ROSE ZHANG: Yeah, it's absolutely amazing. I've been with them since I was 13. I was on their Callaway junior staff program. I've just formed the best relationships with Amy, Bjorn, and just all those people.

It was very natural to just talk about having an NIL deal with them since I've been with them for so long. I'm so honored. I feel like just being able to have Callaway on my hat, being able to play their golf clubs, golf balls, it's just truly, truly a blessing.

Q. And you don't have to change anything with it too? You've always been with them; right?

ROSE ZHANG: Exactly. It does keep the consistency going. Don't have to think about trying to change golf clubs or golf balls, and that can definitely be a huge change to your golf game. I'm lucky there.

Q. Can you remember the last tournament you played where you kind of dug yourself a hole but you came back?

ROSE ZHANG: Yeah.

Q. Probably not in college?

ROSE ZHANG: I mean in college I haven't really had that but -- yikes.

Q. Maybe U.S. Junior, first round maybe?

ROSE ZHANG: Good question.

Q. This is pretty unfamiliar territory for you.

ROSE ZHANG: I mean, I'm sure there's an event where I was -- I wasn't playing the best in the first round and I had to come back, but I've definitely been in the position of like just playing well the first day, and then the second day faltering a lot, and then just coming back -- actually, I do have one. Sorry.

I actually recently in my collegiate event, it was at Meadow Club, and our team was actually behind by quite a bit. In the final round, I came back to shoot 8-under, which was the course record, and didn't think much of it. But it really catapulted our team to be second, just one stroke off SJSU.

I felt like that was definitely -- it was a grind the first two days, the first two events I played, but for me to come back there, it was really cool.

Q. And then just going back to maybe the first or second question, what exactly with your swing or your -- what area of your game do you think is the issue causing trouble right now?

ROSE ZHANG: Today is just -- I feel like it's a little bit of everything, especially the putting a little bit. And just being on this golf course, you really have to have the right course management, and I didn't really have that today. So there's definitely much to talk about and discuss about with my team leader.

Q. I wanted to ask you one more NIL thing. Rachel also signed a nice one recently. Does it take the pressure off the two of you guys? You inevitably get questions about turning professional and things like that. Does it take pressure off any of that knowing that you don't have to jump into that pool right away?

ROSE ZHANG: Yeah, I haven't really thought about that, but I think it's really cool for both of us to be able to sign those NIL deals and have that advantage. I feel like we can be a college athlete while starting our own business, golf brand, and whatnot. I think that both of us are really blessed to be able to have that step into the real world without actually stepping into the professional world.

Q. Is this your third one of these?

ROSE ZHANG: Yes, it's my third one.

Q. Does it feel different coming back?

ROSE ZHANG: It feels the same, in my opinion. But it is a little different in that I had a little bit of a different experience prior to this event, where I played at Papago for my collegiate event.

I think overall it's pretty similar. You're still going into another tournament, and you're still trying to play your best. It's all about mindset.