Women's Golf
Rose Zhang passes Lydia Ko for most consecutive weeks at No. 1 in Women's Amateur Rankings
David Cannon
On top of the world for a remarkable 131 consecutive weeks, Rose Zhang is now the all-time leader for the longest streak at No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings. The record became official on Wednesday, with Zhang passing current LPGA Tour star Lydia Ko, who had held the mark of 130.
Zhang's streak began on Sept. 16, 2020, following her tie for 11th in the LPGA's ANA Inspiration, where she broke Michelle Wie West’s amateur scoring record at a major.
A sophomore at Stanford, Zhang, 19, shows no signs of slowing down with a torrid college pace. She has won four consecutive starts and six of her last seven events. Her winning streak began with winning the individual and team 2022 NCAA Championship to wrap up her freshman year last May. She’s won nine times total over 16 career starts for the Cardinal, tied with Andrea Lee for the most in program history.
In addition, Zhang won the 2022 Annika Award for being the year's most outstanding women's collegiate golfer. She sits two wins away from matching the Stanford career-record totals of 11 on the men’s side—held by Tiger Woods, Patrick Rodgers and Maverick McNealy.
The 2020 U.S. Women's Amateur champion channeled her collegiate success into consistency in the LPGA majors last year, making the cut in all three she played: the U.S. Women's Open (T-40), AIG Women's Open (T-65), and Amundi Evian Championship (T-28). She is currently in the field for this year's U.S. Women's Open at Pebble Beach, where she holds the women's competitive scoring record of 63 set last September during a college event on the Monterey Peninsula.
By virtue of her victory in the Therese Hession Regional Challenge in February, the California native earned her way into another LPGA event, this year’s DIO Implant Open in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., at the end of March. However, she declined the invite, deciding to compete that same week in the Augusta National Women's Amateur. Zhang has played in that event three previous times, with her best finish being a T-3 in 2021.
If Zhang holds onto the No. 1 spot through April 16, she will pass Leona Maguire's record of 135 total weeks as the top amateur in the world.
Zhang declined to comment through her agent.