U.S. Women’s Open: Pebble Beach’s 17th hole gets Rose Zhang rolling

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 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 (tied for 11th place), 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 16th hole, and it gave her momentum for her ensuing 10 holes; she started Friday’s round on the 10th tee.

“I was able to hole a really, really good putt on 17, and that shifted my momentum into the (next) nine,” Zhang said. “I felt very solid with my game in general.”

A perfectly played hole by Rose Zhang. #USWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/pZRoblStFj

— U.S. Women's Open (USGA) (@uswomensopen) July 7, 2023

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. She climbed to a tie for 11th place once all golfers completed the second round.

Zhang, 20, may not lead the tournament, but she remains its marquee attraction, having recently defended her NCAA Championship with Stanford before winning her pro debut last month in New Jersey.

“I’m super lucky that people like me out there,” Zhang said, “but I think it does change a lot of how I play, just because you have people randomly shouting at you and cheering you on.

“It’s great but it’s nothing I’ve been used to or accustomed to, this being Week 3 as a pro. I’m glad they’re out here having a great time. That’s how we grow the game of women’s golf.”

As was the case Thursday, many in the crowd were Stanford boosters.

“It’s really cool,” Zhang said of the contingent. “The alumni circle and network at Stanford is something you can’t replace.” (She plans on continuing her Stanford education, by the way.)

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 a 40th-place tie last year.

Zhang is “really grateful” to make the cut, but a fresh mindset and tact are needed to win her first major.

“In order to put myself in a position to play well the next few days and get up that leaderboard, I have to change my game plan and be a little more aggressive,” Zhang said. “But these are tiny greens and being in the center is just fine.”

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First off the tee Friday was Bailey Tardy, and after her 5-under front-nine, she emerged with sole possession of lead at 7-under overall, two shots ahead of Allisen Corpuz and 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.”