Rose Chan and Madelene Sagstrom advanced to the final round of the Cognizant Founders Cup in a two-woman race. Both had a 10-point lead over the entire field due to Nelly Korda’s fall on travel day.
Zhang was three strokes down through 13 holes and had only a 9 percent chance of winning.
The 20-year-old phenom then hit hard over the final five holes, posting a bogey-free 6-under 66 to beat the Swede by two strokes and finish at 24 under. Zhang played incredible golf all week, 63-68-67-66.
She made four birdies in the final five holes to secure a stunning come-from-behind victory.
“I’m still shaking,” Zhang said. “I never gave up. I always knew there was something within me to just put in the time and enjoy the time. Madeleine is a very solid player, so especially when it comes to struggling I was basically hitting every shot next to the hole and making putts. I had to prepare for the toughest challenge. But it’s crazy that something like this happened.”
This is her second LPGA career win in less than 12 months on tour. Zhang previously became the first woman to win in her LPGA Tour debut since Beverly Hanson in 1954 at the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open. That’s next week’s tournament.
Sagstrom looked invincible all day until he coughed up a shot on the par-4 16th. Meanwhile, the Stanford Cardinal made a clutch birdie putt to take the lead by one on the 17th. Both players hit incredible approach shots on the 18th, each leaving birdie within sight.
However, Zhang made the putt and clinched the victory.
She approached the ball like a veteran and stroked it with confidence. It tracked perfectly and eventually fell into the hole.
This weekend was all about Sagstrom and Chan. They battled all week and the Final 18 felt more like match play than a stroke play event.
“It almost felt like match play. I was telling my dad in the car yesterday that I played against her in the Solheim Cup last year and I knew she was a solid player.” said Chan. “No matter what anyone says, I know she can get through this, no problem. So I just had to keep her perseverance and find that within herself to make it. ”
The world has high expectations for Chan as she excels on every level.
From back-to-back individual national championships at Stanford University to her debut win and now her comeback win, Chan has had an impressive record of victories.
The victory puts Zhang into the top 15 of the Rolex World Golf Ranking and into the Olympic discussion. She is scheduled to head to Liberty National next week to defend her title at the Mizuho Americas Open.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.If you want to know more information about golf, please follow us. @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
