rust?
What kind of rust?
Rose Chang, who shot a 3-under 68 for the second consecutive year on Friday, looked like a veteran at the Far Hills Seripak Championship in California, but she was no stranger to finishing the course at Stanford University.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been on a golf course and actually played competitively,” Chan said.
“In practice, especially in practice at school, I didn’t have a lot of chances because the weather wasn’t great.”
The golf world last saw Zhang at The Match in late February, but she hasn’t played on the LPGA Tour since the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in mid-January.
Nevertheless, she played well on Friday.
“I was just trying to get used to the course and understand the course strategy, where to put the ball,” Zhang said after Friday’s second round.
“Course management is something you pick up gradually as you continue to play. That’s basically what I was referring to, just being comfortable and trying to accomplish my goals.”
Zhang hit 17 of the required 18 greens on Friday, more than achieving his goal. She had four birdies and is now 6 under after 36 holes at Palo Verdes Golf Club. As of this writing, she is one stroke off the lead.
The first birdie of the day came on the first hole, the 370-yard par-4 10th.
“I think it’s always great to start with a birdie on No. 10,” Chan added.
“Once you get that going, even if you wobble a little bit over the next few holes, you can bounce back a little bit.”
He immediately returned it on No. 11 and made bogey. But she righted her ship over the next seven holes, making seven straight pars and being out for 36.
After that, the Stanford Cardinal picked things up on the front nine, making birdies on the second, fourth and fifth holes.
“I made two really good putts, and they were probably the longest putts I’ve ever hit. Or definitely the longest putt of the day,” Zhang said.
“From there, I was able to hit some really solid shots. I left them pretty close, so I got two birdies in a row. That definitely helped me.”
Zhang hit the ball well from tee to green on Friday, but admitted he needs to practice his putting. The statistics also show that. Zhang needed 31 putts in Friday’s second round.
However, for athletes who have been away from competitive play for a long time, it is often the short game that they finally return to. Great feel on the green comes from comfort and a consistent routine.
Zhang is not able to practice as much as he would like, mainly because of his studies. But her performance at Stanford is now in the rearview mirror, and the LPGA’s rising star is happy to report that she passed with flying colors.
“I’m taking one exam. But I got a perfect score…because it’s a take-home exam. But it involved a lot of lectures, critiques, and a lot of reading,” Chan explained.
“I didn’t get a C, so that’s a good thing.”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
