Canzano: Rose Zhang hits PDX with a lesson to teach
Two-time NCAA champion took a break from the LPGA
When Rose Zhang left Stanford in the spring of her sophomore year and turned pro, she did it with a powerhouse sports agency behind her.
Excel Sports Management already had a star-laced talent list that included Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter. It would later land Caitlin Clark. Back then, Zhang was a week away from her 20th birthday. She was already a two-time NCAA champion and drawing comparisons with Tiger.
Zhang signed a deal in college that put Callaway’s logo on her hat and golf bag. She signed on to wear Adidas gear from the neck down. As she turned pro and joined the LPGA tour that spring, Delta Airlines claimed the left side of her hat, and East West Bank grabbed the real estate on her right sleeve.
Rose Zhang became a billboard.
She stunned everyone and won that first LPGA event, taking the Mizuho Americas Open title in a two-hole sudden-death playoff. Zhang became the first golfer in 72 years to win an LPGA event in her debut.
I reached out to her agent at Excel, Kevin Hopkins, as she made the pro transition that summer. I wanted to talk with Zhang about the decision to leave college, particularly because it didn’t appear to be about money. She had a pile of opportunities in front of her at Stanford.
As a kid growing up in Southern California, she’d dominated the junior events. Stanford offered her a scholarship. Zhang had the booming benefits of seven-figure NIL endorsement deals and was matriculating alongside other 20-somethings on one of the finest academic campuses.
Her agent politely brushed me off, citing growing media demands and a desire to focus on golf. Hopkins told me, “Did TODAY Show today, among others, but once life calms down a bit, will see if she’s up for it.”
I waited for two years.
This week, I talked 1-on-1 with Zhang.