The Augusta National Women’s Amateur’s fifth edition will start on Monday! However, the event’s defending champion, Rose Zhang, will not be playing the coveted amateur championship. As the 20-year-old turned professional right after winning at the Augusta National, she was no longer eligible to play in the event.

In the blink of an eye, it has been a year since she lifted the highly decorated silverware of ANWA, and Zhang has found quite a lot of success in her professional career. Despite this, not being in the field at Augusta National makes her miss the time when she used to be an amateur.

Rose Zhang gets nostalgic over Augusta National Women’s Amateur 

The one-time LPGA Tour winner is currently playing at the T-Mobile Match Play at Shadows Creek, Las Vegas. Rose Zhang concluded the opening round with a score of 5 under 65 and secured herself a comfortable spot on the leaderboard at T2 alongside Kang Danielle. After a successful round one, Zhang was asked about ANWA and how she felt about being unable to play in it.

The 20-year-old first described that even though it had been only a year, it felt like ample time had passed since her last outing at Augusta National. Zhang said, “It’s only been a year ago, but it honestly feels like quite a while.” Zhang got a bit nostalgic as she recounted playing the amateur event when she was 15 or 16 and said, “It’s really nostalgic to think back and know that I was able to play Augusta National Women’s Amateur four times,” since it was inaugurated in 2019.

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However, now missing the Augusta greens has made her feel a certain way. Zhang expressed, “Now kind of it’s not on my schedule anymore, so it does kind of sting a little bit.” But seeing her former teammates, three Stanford golfers on this year’s field at ANWA, play at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur has rejuvenated her dispirited feelings. “I’m rooting for a lot of my teammates, friends out there. I’m really excited to kind of watch the replays,” said the defining ANWA champion.

Moreover, Zhang showed her pleasure with the Women’s Amateur and the Masters being scheduled back to back, which makes up for a good week. However, getting nostalgic over her amateur days made Zhang remember a striking difference between then and now.

Rose Zhang wants to get back to her former self

It has been nearly a year since Rose Zhnag won the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open and since then, she has never won another event till now. Even in the 2024 season, Zhang has played three events, missing the cut at the FORD Championship, scoring T7 at the Hilton Grand Vacations TOC, and T22 at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. All three results are not something out of the ordinary for Zhang’s budding career.

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As someone who used to be an exemplary amateur for Zhang, the past few results have not showcased or yielded the golfing prowess of the 20-year-old that she put forth on the greens during her amateur days. At the post-round presser, while getting reminiscent of the ANWA, Zhang also missed her gameplay from those times. She recalled, “It’s been a while since I’ve been an amateur, but even before then, I was sort of just playing my game.”

And now as a professional LPGA Tour player, Zhang iterated, “I kind of want to go back to that.” At Shadows Creek, though three rounds remain to be played, after round one, Zhang has gone back to her old self, though just a little. A win at the T-Mobile Match Play may solidify the return!

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