It has been a momentous year already for Rose Zhang, thanks largely to her win in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur earlier in the month.
However, she also recently surpassed Lydia Ko’s record of 130 consecutive weeks at the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and has now broken the record for the total number of weeks at the top. Zhang has now spent 136 weeks as World No.1, beating the 135 weeks set by Leona Maguire in 2018.
After her latest achievement, Zhang explained that she was honored to break both records. She said: “It’s an unbelievable honor and a testament to a lot of hard work not just by me but by my team as well. Passing names like Lydia and Leona on any list is incredible; they’ve both gone on to have such impressive professional careers and are great role models in golf. I’m grateful for all the support I’ve received and look forward to continuing to pursue my dreams in this game.”
Maguire, who now plays on the LPGA Tour and is World No.15, congratulated Zhang and predicted even greater things for her in the future. She said: “I want to congratulate Rose on this amazing achievement. It takes so much hard work and determination to become the world’s number one amateur golfer and to consistently hold that position for a record-breaking number of weeks shows just how good a golfer Rose really is. She is a future star of the game.”
Chief Technology Officer at The R&A, Professor Steve Otto said: “We would like to congratulate Rose on this record-breaking achievement at the highest level of women’s amateur golf, as well as her recent success at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“She has consistently delivered outstanding results for some time now and continues to show why she is so highly regarded in the sport. We look forward to seeing her compete in the AIG Women’s Open once more at Walton Heath this year.”
USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer added the organization’s congratulations, saying: “Rose continues to build upon an exceptional amateur career, and all of us at the USGA would like to congratulate her on this incredible record-breaking achievement.
“She has become a role model to so many young girls around the world and has consistently performed at the highest levels. We know this is only the start of what will be a long and impactful career in the game.”
Zhang was collecting honors long before this year. She qualified for the 2019 US Women’s Open aged just 16. The year after, she finished tied for 11th in Major The ANA Inspiration (now The Chevron Championship).
Two years ago, she won the US Women’s Amateur, then, in 2022, she was awarded the Mark H McCormack Medal as the world’s leading women’s amateur golfer for the third successive year. That saw her join Maguire and Ko as the only three-time recipients of the accolade. Also last year, she also won the NCAA Championship, while she was the leading amateur at the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield.