Golf is a vibrant game where new heroes are acclaimed on golf courses with their sensational wins. One such star rose from the field of amateur golf. She not only went ahead and claimed a few victories as a budding golfer but also registered her name in the history of the game for generations to praise. This brilliant star is none other than Rose Zhang!

Arguably, there is no one in the golf world who is unaware of the exceptional talent the young player possesses. Before making her debut at the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open as a professional, she ascended to new heights in her amateur career. Zhang became the first golfer to win back-to-back NCAA women’s golf individual titles.

However, this is just a drop in the ocean of achievements she has accomplished. As a Stanford sophomore, she crushed the twenty-year-old record of the golf G.O.A.T. Tiger Woods. She surpassed the legend by winning 12 tournaments in 20 starts, one more than Woods. Her other laurels encompass the individual title at the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the NCAA D-I Pullman Regional, and a gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games. With so many victories, it was only natural for Zhang to also scale to the first position on the women’s amateur ranking.

Eventually, with all these wins and titles, the golfer decided last month to move into the professional arena. Since professional golf isn’t an easy ecosystem, support is always appreciated. This came to Rose Zhang in the form of the veteran caddie, Jason Gilroyed. He will be on the bag for the young golfer as she traverses through the greens in New Jersey.

Who is Jason Gilroyed?

The Canadian-born caddie became the first professional to join Rose Zhang. Zhang turned up at her pro debut with the veteran Jason Gilroyed, who began his caddie career for the LPGA in 1996 at the Edmonton Country Club. With more than two decades as a caddie, Gilroyed is undoubtedly one of the more experienced bagmen out on the greens.

He has caddied for the likes of Rosie Jones and World No. 5 Minjee Lee, and these big names only prove how much the professional caddie has experienced on the field. From the happiness of major victories to other raw emotions of the professionals, Gilroyed has had a chance to be part of these chronicles. As fate had decided, right before joining forces with Rose Zhang in February this year, he and Minjee Lee parted ways.

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Prior to the split, the Australian golfer and the Canadian looper shared numerous victories together. This comprised the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship, apart from other LPGA Tour wins. In addition to Lee and Jones, Gilroyed has also worked for Alison Lee, Anna Nordqvist, and Cristie Kerr.

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The ups and downs of Jason Gilroyed’s professional career

Despite having an accomplished career, Gilroyed has never worked for a long time with a professional golfer. His last professional relationship with Minjee Lee lasted for five years, which, if compared to some other caddie-golfer alliances, is significantly less. Moreover, the caddie has seen a similar situation multiple times. One of his previous shifts from caddie to ex-caddie, which was particularly disheartening, was with Jessica Korda. In 2013, Korda sacked the bagman and replaced him with Johnny DelPrete, who was her boyfriend at the time.

According to the reports, when discussing the dismissal, Gilroyed said, “U.S. Open. Midway through the third round and she fires me.” He couldn’t believe it. “It was crazy. She was mad at me. She said that she needed me to talk to her more on the course,” Gilroyed added.

Sadly, two weeks later, when he joined Anna Nordqvist on the bag, he wasn’t able to stay for more than a couple of months. Prior to this, he had worked with Cristie Kerr on two separate occasions! In 2008, the pair parted ways, and then he once again joined her in 2010 before he was let go two years later, in 2012.

Amid all these ins and outs with golf pros, Gilroyed has still managed to have a successful career to his name. He was Minjee Lee’s caddie when she won significant events, like the ShopRite LPGA Classic title, and with Christie Kerr at Pine Needles in 2007, when she won the U.S. Women’s Open.

The start of the Caddie-Pro alliance between Rose Zhang and Jason Gilroyed

Since Rose Zhang is a communication student at Stanford, it was only natural for the university to play the main role in the story. Coincidentally, Gilroyed’s son Tyler studies at the same university as the budding professional. According to Golfweek, the duo visited the golfer on campus, which resulted in a tour of the institution and dinner. The next day, they went to the venue of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open.

Pebble Beach is the same venue where Zhang registered a record in her name. In the second round of the Caramel Cup 2022, she shot a 9-under 63. Before the veteran, the 20-year-old had her dad caddying for her at the 2023 Augusta Nationals Women’s Amateur. It was pretty exceptional in itself.

As Zhang and Gilroyed teamed up for the 2023 Mizuho Open, the caddie had a great impression of the player. At the practice round in California, the professional looper said, “She shot 4 under pretty easily at 6 a.m. at Pebble when it was pretty cold. If I had to describe her game it would be more a Jin Young (Ko). You know it’s going to be about precision.”

With 26 LPGA Tour wins to boast about, everyone will have their eyes on the rising professional and the experienced caddie.

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