Ahead of her first Major as a professional Rose Zhang is cautious but excited for the week ahead.
Rose Zhang has described her time since turning pro as a whirlwind but that she has enjoyed every minute (so far). The 20-year-old was speaking to media ahead of her first start in a Major as a professional.
Zhang is no stranger to taking part in Majors as this will be her ninth start in one. However, of the five Majors on the women's golf calendar, this will be the first time she has played at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
The American comes into his week after her win in her first professional event at the Mizuho Americas Open. After winning in early June, she headed back to Standford to complete her final exams and then moved back home.
Whilst dealing with all of this, a media frenzy has been surrounding her:
"It's been quite a lot, to be fair. I definitely did not expect a lot of frenzy to occur over my last win. I expected people to know. I expected people to be just super happy about it, but I never thought that media would also be like all over it, as well. It was definitely a lot more than I expected."
The expectations are likely to come from the media and fans, because Zhang seems to be taking every moment in her stride. When she was asked about pressure ahead of her first professional start in a Major, her response was:
"It's super exciting, no doubt. But I wouldn't say it's anything different. I wouldn't place it on another platform or pedestal for me to just admire and look up to. It's another event. I'm still playing the same sport. I'm just in New Jersey again and trying to play well."
With professional life and a win straight away, Zhang is still taking time to adjust to her new-found status. She explained that she doesn't have as much time to work on her game, something that she feels she may have taken for granted as an amateur.
"You can hit balls for like four hours. You can chip, putt, do whatever you need to. But I can't really do that anymore. I think that will be the biggest transition for me."
Although she is excited for the week ahead she is cautious about how she is going to perform due to the amount she has been playing this year:
"I've been playing a lot. Ever since this year's Pac-12s back at school, we played Pac-12s, came back for a little bit, and then immediately went to regionals, nationals, and then I played Mizuho.
"It's been a long stretch of golf, so my body has been tired. It's been a little burned out. I've been trying to navigate that, as well. Just understanding what rest I need and how to take care of whatever I need to, all of that kind of funnels to how I should use my time, and practice isn't necessarily top priority at that point.
"But in the coming weeks, I'll definitely plan on trying to get back in the game. But I think all it needs is some fine tuning, and we should be okay. But we'll see."
We will have to see. There's definitely a lot of anticipation from fans and media alike about the huge potential that Zhang has and the impact she could have on the women's game. But let's not put too much pressure on too quickly, we don't want to see her burn out before she's even got started.
Zhang will tee off at 8:39am (EST) with Lexi Thompson and Minjee Lee. Follow live scoring here. Live coverage begins on Sky Sports Golf a 5pm (BST).
Inspired by the second women's Major of the season? Why not come and watch the best players in the world at the AIG Women's Open this summer at Walton Heath. Ticket prices start from £20.
