Stanford commit Rose Zhang wins U.S. Women’s Amateur

Rose Zhang thought she might need to withdraw from the U.S. Women’s Amateur because of a left wrist injury. Instead, she didn’t play for 10 days to have her best chance.

It was a winning decision.

Zhang won the longest U.S. Women’s Amateur title match in 54 years, denying Gabriela Ruffels a repeat victory Sunday in Rockville, Md., when the 20-year-old Australian missed a 3-foot par putt on the 38th hole.

“To have my name on the trophy with the best players of all time is life-changing,” Zhang said. “It’s a dream come true.”

Neither player led by more than 2 up the entire 36-hole match, and they halved the last five holes with par to force extra holes.

Zhang, a 17-year-old from Irvine who has committed to play at Stanford next year, sent it to overtime with a clutch flop-and-run from the rough 95 yards away to tap-in range on the 18th hole.

On the first extra hole, Zhang missed about a 12-foot putt for the win. On the 38th hole, Ruffels went just beyond the green from the rough and hit a good pitch to about 3 feet. Zhang missed her birdie putt, and then Ruffels’ par putt to extend the match spun around the cup.

“Today was a very long 38 holes,” Zhang said. “In the middle of the round, my wrist was feeling weird, so I tried to stretch it out as much as I could before going to the next shot that I had. I don’t think that my wrist was too much of a hindrance, but it definitely was in the back of my mind.”

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