Following her triumph at the Cognizant Founders Cup, Rose Zhang shot up to 16 ranks in the Rolex Rankings, breaking into the top 10 for the first time.
Zhang, 20, is now ranked No. 6 in the world and has a chance to earn a berth on Team USA for the upcoming Olympics in Paris.
Zhang was the world’s top amateur for 141 weeks, having held the position as a sophomore at Stanford one year prior.
Regarding her start to 2024, Zhang remarked, “I think in the first couple events coming out I put a lot of pressure on myself to be able to play well, and mainly the reason is because I didn’t want to lose out on the Olympics.”
Since I’ve been watching it since I was five years old, it was absolutely a goal to be able to come close to that in past events. I kind of went slow with this event and didn’t give it much thought.
Players have six weeks remaining to secure a berth, with the deadline being June 24, which is immediately following the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The women’s competition is scheduled for August 7–10, right after the men’s tournament.
To produce its own Olympic Golf Rankings, the International Golf Federation (IGF) uses the Rolex Rankings. A maximum of four players from each nation are allowed to compete in Paris among the top 15 players in the world. At the moment, the US is the only nation with four players ranked in the top 15.
There can be a maximum of two qualifying players from each nation that does not currently have two or more players in the top 15. The remaining 60 players in the field will be selected directly from the Olympic Golf Rankings.
At least one spot is guaranteed to the host nation, France, and it will go to Celine Boutier, the third-ranked person in the world right now.
Here is a glance at the current positions of the top 10 Americans:
1. The Korda Nelly
Korda cooled off a little last week in New Jersey after winning five straight starts, but he still managed to place in the top 10. The gold medallist from the 2020 Olympics hopes to win a second in Paris.
2. A Lilia Vu
Vu, an LPGA champion four times last season, hasn’t competed on the circuit since withdrawing from the Chevron Championship due to a persistent back ailment. At Liberty National this week, she is not on the field.
6. Zhang Rose
Zhang, who became a professional golfer about a year ago and already holds two LPGA titles, is aiming to make her Olympic debut. She is the Mizuho Americas Open champion from last week.
15. The Khang Megan
Khang had a great start to the 2024 season, but she hasn’t really settled in lately, as seen by the fact that she hasn’t made the cut in two of her past three starts. This week, she fell to No. 15, and she’s fighting for the fourth and last position.
18. Alessandra Lee
This week, Lee—who was among the hottest players toward the end of 2023—dropped two spots to rank No. 18.Her 2024 campaign was disrupted by a dog bite early in the year.
20. Allisen Corpuz
The 2023 U.S. Women’s Open champion has a lot of middle-of-the-pack runs this season, but just one top-10 result. In comparison to the previous season, her percentage of greens hit in regulation has somewhat decreased.
22. Angel Yin
Yin began the year in a wheelchair after breaking her left ankle earlier in the season in Austria. She finished tied for 35th in the Founders Cup after being forced to withdraw from the Chevron last month.
35. Ally Ewing
Ewing, an LPGA three-time winner, has finished in the top 25 three times this year. Despite not participating in the Founders Cup, she is this week’s field player.
44. Thompson Lexi
Despite a hand injury, Thompson has been making progress, as seen by the missed cuts in her previous two starts. She has a tattoo of the Olympic rings and is a two-time Olympian.
45. Andrea Lee
Although Lee had three early top 10 finishes to start the season, she has since cooled off. She missed the cut at the JM Eagle at Wilshire Country Club and tied for 50th at the Founders. To break into the top 15, something exceptional would be required.
