Rose Chan and the rest of the afternoon’s waves dealt with high wind conditions on the second day of LPGA T-Mobile Match Play.
Zhang shot a 1-over 73 on the day and qualified for the tournament at 4 under.
At one point, the LPGA phenom held a two-shot lead, but bogeyed the final two holes and fell to a tie for fourth place.
She, Angel Yin, Carlota Ciganda, and Kim Sei-young are tied for first place.
Despite his struggles in the final stages, it was another first for the 20-year-old. This is the first time Zhang has held at least a share of the lead through 36 holes.
She previously became the first woman to win back-to-back NCAA individual national championships. She then became the first woman to win in her LPGA debut since Beverly Hanson in 1951.
Zhang got off to a strong start Thursday with two birdies in the first four holes. But he spit out a shot on the par-3 fifth and finished the turn with a 35.
She had three bogeys, three pars and one birdie in her final seven holes. It was painful for the young man. Still, she persevered.
Winds were gusting up to 40 miles per hour throughout the afternoon. Not a single player finished below par on that wave.
“It’s always a very difficult golf course in the shadows alone, but it’s very easy to hit over par here,” Chan said. “When the wind blows, it’s 10 times harder. So just looking at the score and the cut line just kind of justified how difficult it was to play today.”
The first cut of match play was made after Thursday’s round. By the end of the day, the expected line went from 5 over to 9 over. This is the best cutline since the 2020 AIG Women’s Open.
Further advancement to the top eight will be decided on Friday. In case of a tie, a playoff will be held. The tournament then moves to match play.
This is a switch from the first three years of the event, which was entirely match play.
Currently, the LPGA is taking a collegiate NCAA tournament-style approach. Stroke play will also be played, with the top eight teams competing in match play.
Zhang will play alongside Ciganda in the final stroke play tee time on Friday at 2:31 p.m. ET.
She has the potential to build on her momentum from the first two days and win her second LPGA event.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.If you want to know more about golf, please follow us. @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
