Rookie Rose Zhang ultimately relinquished her lead during the final round of the Maybank Championship, finishing in a tie for third at 19-under at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, but the 20-year-old was more than positive about her top-five result in Malaysia despite just missing out on her second career LPGA Tour victory.
Zhang began the day with a one-shot lead over Jasmine Suwannapura and Atthaya Thitikul at 18-under. She quickly extended her advantage with a pair of birdies on the par-5 3rd hole and par-3 4th hole, now sitting at 20-under overall, but the Mizuho Americas Open winner gave those red numbers back with a pair of bogeys on 7 and 8 to turn in 36. Zhang carded another birdie on No. 10 to get back to 19-under and once again dropped a shot with a bogey on No. 13, ultimately taking her out of contention. She made one final birdie on the par-4 16th hole, closing out her round with a pair of pars on 17 and 18 to post a 1-under, 71 and finish in a tie for third, alongside Suwannapura.
Although the final result wasn’t what she was hoping for at the beginning of the week in Malaysia, Zhang was still incredibly pleased with her performance at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club and will apply what she learned this week to her next two scheduled starts at the TOTO Japan Classic and CME Group Tour Championship.
“I felt like it was an incredible week for me. It's been a while since I've been in contention, in the top 10, and I just feel really lucky to be in that position. I still have lots to learn, lots to improve on, but I feel like it's all up from here,” said Zhang, who had not found the top 10 since tying for ninth at The Amundi Evian Championship in July. “I think for me, it's important to understand what my routine is, and I realized what's been working for me, what I have to work on. But I am really happy that I have those improving points to work on. Kind of makes me hopeful for whatever is to come.”
Excluding her victory at Liberty National Golf Club, the T3 is Zhang’s fourth top-10 finish of the 2023 LPGA Tour season, joining a tie for eighth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and a pair of T9s at the U.S. Women’s Open and The Amundi Evian Championship. Not only did she shoot her career-low round on the LPGA Tour twice this week, carding 65 in both the first and third rounds, Zhang also recorded three consecutive rounds in the 60s for the first time ever this week at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. She also had another opportunity to play with the 54-hole lead again, something that Zhang hadn’t done since she won in her professional debut at the Mizuho Americas Open in June.
In all, the rookie showed her mettle at the Maybank Championship and will carry plenty of momentum with her to her next two tournaments in Japan and Naples, Fla., two events that Zhang is looking forward to as her first season as an LPGA Tour member begins to come to a close.
“For me, I think the next two events are also just learning processes,” said Zhang. “In Japan, I'm super excited to just go enjoy the cuisine and the entire country. Once I rest a little bit, maybe a week off, CME is going to happen, close out the year with a couple of other events. So I think there is a lot of potential. I'll still be keeping my pedals moving and keep working.”
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