For likely the first time ever in her young life, golf has been tough for Rose Zhang.

Sure, the 20-something superstar has faced difficulty in the past, tough breaks and bad lies that have taken plenty of mental and physical excellence to extricate herself from, challenges and disappointments she has had to tackle head-on lest they erode her self-belief entirely.

But Zhang admitted on Saturday at the FM Championship that her performance throughout 2025 LPGA Tour season has been discouraging at times, noting that while she has done her best to glean every shred of positive she can from every scenario, good and bad, it’s been hard to keep her head up when one of the most demanding games in the world continues to throw punch after punch at her already bruised confidence.

“I think, in general, I didn't really have that great of a schedule. I was in school earlier this year, and then I got injured straight (off) the bat,” Zhang said following her second round at TPC Boston. “The only events that I really played in were majors this year, and majors obviously test all skills of your game. I didn't have the intuition that I felt like I had last year and the previous years. I really had to keep my mindset very simple, stick to the process. Sometimes it gets discouraging, but I feel like with tough stretches, there is still a lot of positivity that goes on.”

Zhang later continued, “I would say this year is the first time I really hit a hard struggle bus in my entire golf career, but I will say I think the success helps in that you know that it's in you, but it also might hinder your look to the present and the future because you expect way too much out of yourself in your circumstance. I think I'm navigating that, and it's helped me grow as a person and even as a player.”

Her gritty resilience in the face of the unfamiliar adversity she has dealt with recently seems to finally have paid off for Zhang this week at the FM Championship, as the two-time LPGA Tour winner is currently in a tie for second at 15-under overall, trailing Epson Tour graduate Miranda Wang by just three strokes in Norton, Mass.

Zhang got off to a quiet start with a 2-under 70 on Thursday and then rocketed up the leaderboard in round two despite having to complete the majority of her second 18 on Saturday morning. She had finished four holes when play was suspended due to darkness at 7:15 p.m. local time on Friday evening, having been in the wave of athletes who dealt with three bouts of weather delays and derailed afternoon tee times at TPC Boston.

But Zhang took the complication in stride, making birdies on the par-4 1st, par-3 3rd and par-4 4th holes before the horn eventually blew at sunset. Then, after restarting her second round with pars on the fifth and sixth holes, she nabbed a fourth birdie on the par-5 7th hole to climb to 6-under for the tournament, ultimately turning in 32.

The 22-year-old kept the pedal down on her closing nine, picking up a birdie on the par-5 12th hole to move to 7-under and then landing another on 14 to get to 8-under total. Zhang made two more birdies on the par-3 16th and par-5 18th holes to polish off an 8-under 64, what’s her second time firing a 64 in her last three LPGA Tour starts, as Zhang also shot a 64 on day two of The Standard Portland Classic a few weeks ago.

At the time, Zhang’s 64 was the lowest round of the week at the FM Championship, an effort that moved her to 10-under overall and helped Zhang to race up the scoreboard from T31 to solo third with 36 holes remaining.

“I felt much more comfortable out there,” Zhang said. “I think this year, I'm trying to gain a lot of positives out of a lot of difficulties or tough stretches, and I feel like this is helping me boost my confidence little by little. I'm motivated to keep working hard and keep grinding it out.”

After breaking for a couple of hours and then heading back out in the afternoon for another 18 holes, the third round began with an early stumble from Zhang, who bogeyed the par-3 3rd hole after missing the green in regulation to slip back to 9-under. Undiscouraged, she made a birdie on six to erase that mistake and then birdied the par-4 9th and 10th holes to move to 12-under for the tournament.

The Olympian threw a one-two punch of birdies at the par-5 12th and par-4 13th holes to vault to 14-under, and following a brief stint on the par train that lasted from Nos. 14 to 17, Zhang grabbed one final birdie on the par-5 18th hole to post a 5-under 67 on Moving Day and share second with Sei Young Kim going into the final round of the second edition of the FM Championship.

“Feel like all I've been doing today is eating and drinking water and electrolytes. I feel like that's how I realized and managed my energy levels throughout the day,” Zhang said. “It's been a while since I played 32 holes. I needed to grind it out a little bit. I needed to stay focused. But I felt like I took a lot of positives today, knowing that I have resilience to play consistent golf and keep trying to better it.”

With a third career LPGA Tour title now well within reach, Zhang is as hungry as ever to make the most of this latest opportunity, even more so considering just how taxing the 2025 season has been for her on the golf course.

This is her ninth time sitting within five of the lead entering the final round, and Zhang has split the difference when it comes to winning from the leading and chasing positions, triumphing at the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club as a non-member after holding the 54-hole lead and then winning the 2024 Founders Cup at Upper Montclair Country Club as a chaser.

But really, Zhang has already won the battle this week at the FM Championship by getting herself to this point once again after everything she’s gone through this year. And while she will of course be working hard to win on Sunday at TPC Boston, Zhang should chalk up her performance in Norton, Mass., as a resounding success no matter what ultimately transpires, one she can build upon for the remainder of the 2025 season.

“It's been a while since I've been in contention, so I'm very, very grateful,” said Zhang. “Regardless of what the results are, I'm just going to be doing my thing, trying to stay as composed and consistent as possible, and stick to the fundamentals, the game plan, and everything that my coach and everyone on my team has been working on with me. So honestly, I think the momentum is great, and then we'll just have fun tomorrow.”

After Riding the ‘Struggle Bus,’ Rose Zhang is Rounding Into Form at the FM Championship

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