Rose Zhang, at 21, is the youngest member of the American golf team. But is she the youngest ever to represent the Stars and Stripes in Olympic golf? On the men’s side, no one was this young in either this year or the last edition of the Olympics. So, the competition for the youngest golfer is with Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson, two young prodigies themselves.

Korda, the last edition’s gold medalist, just turned 23 when she teed up at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. Interestingly, Zhang was only in high school when the current world no. 1, Nelly Korda, earned the gold medal in the 2020 Olympics (held in 2021). Now they will vie for the same position on the podium.

Thompson, on the other hand, was 21 when she teed up in Rio. But mere months separate Zhang and Thompson. Zhang will be 21 years, 2 months, and 15 days old when she tees off with Hannah Green and Charley Hull at Le Golf National this Thursday.

Whereas, Thompson was 21 years, 6 months, and 7 days old when she traveled to Rio in the summer of 2016. So the mantle of the youngest golfer to represent the USA is with Rose Zhang.  But despite her young age, the two-time LPGA Tour winner is geared up for the upcoming battle.

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Rose Zhang talks Olympics and more

This is not the first time Zhang has represented Team USA in the international arena. She has played in the Junior Solheim Cup, two Curtis Cups, and the Solheim Cup last year. In fact, the Stanford alum teed off on the very same course at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship two years ago.

However, the 21-year-old agreed that the Olympics would be vastly different from what she had experienced before. “You know, just back in junior golf, you play Junior Solheim Cup and then you play the Curtis Cup in amateur golf and then you play for USA on a couple other levels, but the Olympics is such a different level in terms of representing your country.”

The key difference is the reach of the Olympics. The men’s game showed that a chunk of the 25–30K spectators were not golf fans per se. They rallied behind a player because they represented their nation. Indeed, the loudest cheers were reserved for Matthieu Pavon and Victor Perez.

Zhang, too, along with Korda and Lilia Vu, watched the nail-biting Sunday round on TV. “You always want to be competitive and have a competitive edge. … I think it is cool to experience a little bit of everything, though,” Zhang added.

She, like Scottie Scheffler, witnessed other sports, took a round at the USA House, and hi-fived a handful of fellow players. The youngest member of the team is ready for the grand stage.