Three-Peat: Rose Zhang recipient of 2022 McCormack Medal
Rose Zhang (USGA/Oisin Keniry)
Rose Zhang, of Irvine, Calif., has won the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading women’s player in the 2022 World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®). This is Zhang’s third consecutive McCormack Medal, emulating previous three-time medalists Leona Maguire and Lydia Ko. It is her 101st consecutive week at number one, leaving her behind only Maguire at 135 weeks and Ko at 130 in the overall record.
Zhang enjoyed another year of outstanding golf, winning her first three collegiate starts in her Stanford freshman year at the Molly Collegiate Invitational, the Windy City Collegiate Classic and the Stanford Intercollegiate. She became the first Stanford player — male or female — to win her first three collegiate starts and did not finish out of the top ten in her first seven starts.
After securing a T12 finish at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, Zhang went on to win the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Championship by three shots. On the day of her 19th birthday, she received the ANNIKA Award for best women’s college golfer of the year. She then clinched Stanford’s second NCAA team title by winning the final match.
Rose Zhang (Stanford Athletics) Zhang played a leading role in the USA team’s victory over Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup Match at Merion, winning two of her four matches.
Zhang also performed well in her major championship appearances, winning the Smyth Salver as the leading amateur at the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield, finishing tied 40th in the U.S. Women’s Open Presented by ProMedica and tied for 65th at the Amundi Evian Championship. Later this month, she will compete for the USA Team at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship.
"My amateur career continues to be incredibly rewarding and humbling,” said Zhang. “To be named the McCormack Medal recipient for the third time is a testament to the work I’ve put in and the support of those around me. This caps an incredible year and motivates me even further for the season ahead.”
The R&A and the USGA jointly award the McCormack Medal annually. It is named after Mark H. McCormack, who founded sports marketing company IMG and was a great supporter of amateur golf.
“Rose continues to do things in the amateur game we haven’t seen in quite some time,” said John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer, USGA. “Her talent on the course is unmatched, but more importantly, the role model she is for the younger generation and the way she represents the game is admirable and inspiring. All of us at the USGA congratulate her on this outstanding achievement and look forward to seeing what’s next for her.”
Professor Steve Otto, Chief Technology Officer at The R&A, said, “Rose has performed to an extremely high level over the last three years and consistently demonstrated just how talented she is as a golfer. I congratulate Rose on the remarkable achievement of winning the McCormack Medal for the third consecutive year. She has made a substantial contribution to amateur golf around the world and thoroughly deserves this recognition. We look forward to seeing her success continue.”
The World Amateur Golf Ranking, which is supported by Rolex, was established in 2007 when the men’s ranking was launched. The men’s ranking encompasses nearly 3,300 counting events, ranking 4,629 players from 110 countries. The women’s ranking was launched in 2011 and has a calendar of around 2,300 counting events with more than 2,867 ranked players from 88 countries.