Sports
Teeing off in Paris, Rose Zhang redefines what it means to do it all
In just her second year on Tour, the No. 9-ranked player in the world aims to meet her own lofty expectations.
STANDING BAREFOOT IN her family's backyard, 9-year-old Rose Zhang stared down at a bottlecap laying on the grass. She watched her father swing his seven iron and make contact with the bottlecap and thought, "I can do that." She got the hang of it within minutes.
Haibin Zhang saw his daughter's natural talent for golf, and how much she seemed to enjoy learning everything she could about the game. Near their home in Irvine, California, there were plots of empty land slated for tract homes. The Zhangs would make their own driving range there on the weekends. Standing on a square carpet mat, Rose took swings across the dirt and rocks for hours. "Another one," she would tell her father, running after the balls to collect them before hitting more.
Haibin Zhang saw his daughter's natural talent for golf, and how much she seemed to enjoy learning everything she could about the game. Near their home in Irvine, California, there were plots of empty land slated for tract homes. The Zhangs would make their own driving range there on the weekends. Standing on a square carpet mat, Rose took swings across the dirt and rocks for hours. "Another one," she would tell her father, running after the balls to collect them before hitting more.