Rose Zhang is back at the prestigious Riviera Country Club for the U.S. Women's Open, set to make her fourth appearance in the tournament. But her road to getting there wasn't smooth, as it got pretty stressful and changed how she looked at the sport.

After her global ranking took a dive following consecutive missed cuts at the JM Eagle LA Championship and the Chevron Championship, the two-time LPGA Tour winner was forced to enter the grueling, cut-throat open qualifying pool last month. During her Wednesday pre-tournament presser, she admitted that battling through U.S. Women’s Open qualifying was a wake-up call.

It showed her that the intense pressure still makes her feel like a rookie again. So, she's gained a new perspective on the sport. "Honestly, ever since I turned pro in 2023, I didn't really have to play a U.S. Women's Open qualifier, and in my head, wow, this is what it's like to be grinding for a position out here," Zhang admitted.

As a Stanford soon-to-be-graduate, Rose faced intense 39-hole sectionals at Essex County Country Club. She finished the initial 36 holes at 2 under par, shooting scores of 71 and 69. 

With that score, she ended up in a four-way tie needing a playoff for the last spot at Riviera. Even then, she narrowly didn't qualify automatically and became the first alternate instead.

However, the 23-year-old didn't give up, which ultimately resulted in her entry into the U.S. Women's Open.

Rose Zhang’s Journey to Rising Above the Qualifying Wake-Up Call

Consecutive weekend cutoffs missed in late April caused Zhang's world ranking to sink from 74th to 77th. Her rapid fall cost her the automatic exemption status, forcing her to go through the tough qualifying rounds.

Things looked even bleaker because of her track record at this particular major. In her last two appearances at the U.S. Women's Open, she had unforgettable outings. Both times, she failed to meet the cut-off scores, shooting an 11-over par in 2024 and a 2-over par in 2025.

However, there was a slight upturn right after the rough qualifier experience. At the Mizuho Americas Open, she recovered to tie for 25th place, even though her world ranking dipped to 82nd.

Following that, she nailed another solid performance, tying for 12th at the Kroger Queen City Championship with a score of 4-under par 276. This officially put her back in the ranks of the elite players.

Her performance pushed her ranking back up to 71st in the Rolex World Rankings. She had moved upwards enough to get back inside the top-75 exemption cutoff, just in the nick of time.

Now officially in the field at Riviera, the grueling wake-up call remains her primary motivation. Zhang is fully prepared to conquer past major heartbreaks and prove she belongs at the top.

So, how do you think she will perform at the U.S. Women's Open?

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Written by

Abhishek Sharma

Edited by

Souvik Roy