Zhang The Latest Professional Product Of California Schools | LPGA
Rose Zhang has been dominating golf news lately. Not since Tiger Woods’ “Hello World” moment, an amateur-turned-pro, has captivated fans as much as Zhang’s announcement last Friday. And while she’s not yet a member of a major tour, the 20-year-old, who is arguably the most accomplished amateur since the LPGA’s inception, will no doubt turn heads this summer as she accepts exceptions to play around the world – the first of which will take place next week at the Mizuho Americas Open.
Concluding Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, it’s worth noting that Zhang is just the latest in a long line of Asian American professionals to graduate from California’s most prestigious universities. The fact that she is now the most victorious female golfer in Stanford history – with 12 wins in two seasons, beating the previous record of 11 held by Woods, Maverick McNealy and Patrick Rodgers – and the only player to ever win two consecutive NCAA Women’s National Championships as an individual make Rose the pinnacle of West Coast College golf. But she is far from alone.
Before Zhang, Stanford had Andrea Lee, who held the previous school record for women’s golf wins with nine. Lee won the 2019 Mark H. McCormack Medal after being the world’s highest-ranked amateur for 17 weeks before turning pro and joining the LPGA Tour.
After a solid start to the truncated 2020 season, Lee struggled in 2021 and ended up on the Epson Tour. That can be a serious career blow, especially for a player who has never struggled with doubt or lack of success. But Andrea made every effort, carrying her own bag and riding across America for most of the 2021 season. Through courage and perseverance, she regained her form and won her first professional title at the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic on the Epson Tour in 2022. Andrea won by a par on the third playoff hole against former US Curtis Cup teammate and current LPGA Tour colleague Lucy Li.
Later that fall, Andrea broke through on the LPGA Tour, winning the Portland Classic and hitting a 66 in the final round for a one-shot win over Daniela Darquea.
If you watched the NCAA women’s championship last week, not only did you see Zhang in the Final Four with her Stanford teammates, you saw a familiar face walking the fairways and offering advice to the players in the semifinals and finals. Tiffany Joh, who played on the LPGA Tour for nine years (plus two more on the Epson Tour), is now an assistant women’s golf coach at the University of Southern California. She was a force last week leading the Trojans to the finals against Wake Forest.
Joh, a Korean-American born in Philadelphia but raised in San Diego, was a four-year standout at UCLA from 2005-2009 before turning pro. She has always been one of the most popular and friendly players in the sport and her second job as a coach seems like a natural progression for a player who is naturally sensitive and communicative.
One of Joh’s teammates at UCLA was Jane Park, also a Californian of Korean descent who was a two-time US Curtis Cup team member and US women’s amateur champion. Jane played the LPGA Tour for 14 years and is now taking care of her daughter Grace, who suffered brain damage from a virus in 2021 and remains physically and mentally disabled.
Also joining the litany of AAPI players on the LPGA Tour who matriculated through UCLA is our recent Major winner Lilia Vu and 2021 Chevron Champion Patty Tavatanakit.
But one of the better stories from Bel Air College is Alison Lee, who made it to the round of 16 in the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play presented by MGM Rewards. Alison has always been a UCLA girl, long before she ever wore the blue and gold Bruins jerseys.
“I grew up in Los Angeles and went to middle and high school in Santa Clarita, which is still part of LA County, probably 40 minutes from campus,” Alison said. “UCLA was the only school I went to and I fell in love instantly. I knew I was going to school in California, so I narrowed it down. At that point, I already knew some of the girls on the UCLA team, so the decision was pretty easy for me.”
The difficult decision came later. In the middle of her sophomore year, Alison decided to give the LPGA Qualifying School a try. Your expectations were low. She loved college and had every intention of playing as a bruin every four years. Then she won medals at the LPGA Q-Series and almost felt compelled to try the Tour.
“Even while I was playing on tour, I stayed at school, actually lived on campus, joined the Delta Gamma sorority, and did all the normal school stuff I could as part of my touring schedule,” Alison said.
“For me, growing up in LA, UCLA just always made the most sense. It was close to friends and family. There’s Koreatown, very close by. My grandparents have lived in the US for almost 50 years and still don’t really speak English. But they get around easily because Koreatown is easy for them to get around. There are a few things they need my mother for, like translating documents or mail or something like that, but I’m very happy.
“Los Angeles is a huge melting pot. Culturally, that’s why I got into golf. Whether Asian or Asian-American, golf has to be one of the most diverse sports and the LPGA Tour is certainly the most diverse of any major professional league. I always found that appealing and it was one of the main reasons I played golf.”
USC made a similar appeal to American players of Asian and Pacific descent. Annie Park and Allisen Corpuz are at different stages in their careers, but both share a bond as Trojans, while Gabriella Then, who left golf for a while to take a marketing job at a cosmetics company, finds her way back to the future has LPGA Tour, which finished in the top 10 of the 2022 Race for the Card on the Epson Tour last year, to regain their status for the 2023 season.
“Golf just lends itself to diversity,” said Alison Lee. “Being of Asian-American descent in our game is not unique, just like being a golfer of any ethical background is not unique. It’s part of what makes golf so special.”