There must be a lot going through Rose Zhang‘s mind hours before her tee time at Erin Hills Golf Course. The 22-year-old has had a roller-coaster ride in 2025. Four events and only one occasion when she made the cut. The only saving grace was her T10 start at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, but even that seems like a long time ago. That’s when her neck injury turned up, after she halved a match against Nataliya Guseva at Shadow Creek. Only recently did Zhang return from a neck injury that had been troubling her for most of this year, and she isn’t afraid of revealing her mental battles.
She seemed positive about competing for the title hours before the tournament began. At least that’s what it seemed like as she was interviewed by Brandel Chamblee and his team in the latest episode of Golf Channel’s Golf Central on YouTube. Zhang was asked where she was mentally and physically going into the major. The 22-year-old responded, “Surprisingly, it has been an extremely tough year. It’s not a 2025 that I would have imagined. I planned out everything with my agents, with my team, on what events I’m playing in, what events I want to play well at. All that flew out the window once my neck started acting up.” The neck injury derailed any progress Zhang could have made in the season. She also ended up missing the 2025 Chevron Championship because of that.
She played in the Mizuho Americas Open only three weeks ago and has since been preparing for the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open. The other thing that kept her away from the fairway was her education. Taking a full winter quarter at Stanford University, Rose was unavailable to compete in LPGA Tour events for more than two months. That reduced her chances of finding any form or rhythm on the course.
She further added, “I felt like this break was a little bit of a blessing in disguise, where I was able to slow down a little bit. Everything has happened so quickly, and then my off-seasons didn’t really feel like off-seasons either since I was taking the full course loads when I was back at school.” The two-month break for her commitment to Stanford really kept Zhang busy. Being a part-time student, she had a hectic schedule to keep up with, and it seems that it stressed her out as she confessed not having a proper off-season.
Speaking about her mental state right now, Zhang stated, “All in all, my mental state is, honestly, pretty good. I think I’m very mentally challenged, and I feel grateful for the process that I’ve put in. The efforts that I’ve put into getting back into being healthy, and then also slowly trending back into the golf direction. I don’t think things will look too pretty. But I also think that I’m doing a lot of good things right now.” While recovering from her neck injury, it seems that the 2-time LPGA Tour winner was able to find some mental peace that has helped boost her confidence and made it easier to get back on the course.
While her mental state is positive right now, the infamous Golf Channel reporter wanted to know her physical fitness going into the second major of the season. Zhang replied, “I’d say I’m at a 70% from being perfect. But at the same time, I think the U.S. Open is not really a venue or an event where you expect to always have your A-game. Especially in these tough conditions. A lot of it is mental. A lot of it is just having grit and being very disciplined.” Competing in a major like the U.S. Women’s Open is certainly not easy, and the American pro understands that very well. Hence, despite being at only 70% fitness, she believes it will be a lot more mentally challenging to try and win the tournament.
Another factor that might affect the mental state of Zhang is her record in the U.S. Women’s Open. She has played in each edition of the major since 2019. Being an outstanding talent, one would expect that she regularly competes for the title every year. However, she holds an abysmal record in this particular event, having only made the cut three of the six opportunities she has had so far. Her best finish was a T9 in 2023, and her last missed cut was in 2024. So Zhang doesn’t have much going for her going into the major at Wisconsin.
She also reflected on the challenges presented by the golf course during the interview. Continuing to speak about the upcoming major event, Zhang said, “At Erin Hills, on this golf course, there’s a lot of course management that needs to be done and being very affirmative with where you want to place it and, you know, being lucky every now and then. I think that’s all part of the recipe for playing really well. Personally speaking, I do think my expectations are very low for myself. But it’s also to make sure that I’m getting back into the groove of where I want to be.”
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 01: Rose Zhang of the United States lines up a putt on the fifth green during the third round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions 2025 at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club on February 01, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
There is a lot that goes into winning a major. Rose Zhang understands that, as she precisely mentioned how you need grit, course management, a clear plan, and even luck to capture the U.S. Women’s Open title. While she might have low expectations of herself, it’s clear that she has the right mindset to tackle the challenges she might face at Erin Hills. Continuing to follow the process will ensure that she at least gets a high finish on the leaderboard if she can’t win it in the end.
Having said that, there is a tough road that lies ahead for Zhang as she will need to overcome the threat of some of the best golfers in the world.
The biggest obstacles for Rose Zhang’s pursuit of her first major win
Rose Zhang’s record in the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open might play against her. Having missed the cut just 12 months ago, she might be anxious to play in the weekend half this year. Beyond that, there are a number of golfers who are in far better form to capture the major title. One of them is Lydia Ko, who has had an outstanding season so far. She has made 6 out of 7 cuts. 4 of them were also top-11 finishes. One of them was also a win in Singapore, in the 2025 HSBC Women’s World Championship. Moreover, Ko has a bigger goal in mind before retiring from golf, and that’s becoming a Grand Slam champion. And the U.S. Women’s Open is one of the majors she needs to win to achieve that feat.
Other top contenders will be Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul. Korda has been winless in 2025. The 2024 Rolex Player of the Year will be able to break the curse and capture the major title. Interestingly, the world No. 1 also needs just 3 majors to become a Grand Slam champion. And this week’s event is one of them. Jeeno Thitikul has been one of the most consistent performers in the last few months. She has won three out of the last ten tournaments she has played in and finished in the top 10 five more times. Still hungry for a major win, it won’t come as a surprise if Thitkul goes all the way at Erin Hills Golf Course. This makes Rose Zhang’s job even more difficult this week.
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