STANFORD, Calif. - Rose Zhang has been named one of four finalists for the Class of 2023 Honda Sport Award for Golf as announced today by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA).
Zhang, who is bidding for her second straight honor after earning the Class of 2022 Honda Award, joins fellow finalists Jenny Bae (Georgia), Ingrid Lindblad (LSU) and Julia Lopez Ramirez (Mississippi State).
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 47 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies "the best of the best in collegiate athletics". The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2023 Honda Cup which will be presented during the live telecast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Presented by Honda on CBS Sports Network on June 26, at 8:30 ET/5:30 PT.
The golf finalists were selected by a panel of coaches and experts from the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA). The Honda Sport award winner for golf will be announced later this week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
Zhang not only cemented her legacy as the greatest player in conference history, but produced arguably the most decorated amateur career in the history of collegiate golf. Zhang elected to turn pro on May 26 following two dynamic seasons (2022-23) on The Farm.
A two-time Pac-12 Golfer of the Year, Zhang joined UCLA's Bronte Law (2015-16) as the only repeat winner and one of three two-time recipients overall. However, Zhang's resume of wins, awards and scoring records stands out in comparison to her predecessors.
In just 20 collegiate events over her two seasons, Zhang delivered a school-record 12 victories, matching Arizona's Lorena Ochoa (2001-03) for the most in conference women's golf history. Only Arizona State's Phil Mickelson finished with more, claiming 16 titles from 1988-92.
As a sophomore in 2023, Zhang won a staggering 8-of-10 events, becoming only the fourth woman to sweep through the postseason with record-setting Pac-12 and NCAA Regional crowns and an unprecedented NCAA title defense. Zhang's eight single-season wins tied her for the most in women's collegiate golf history and matched Tiger Woods (1995-96) for the most in school history.
A two-time NCAA individual champion – the first female to accomplish the feat – Zhang twice set the NCAA single-season scoring average record, with a 68.81 sophomore-season scoring average besting a 69.68 freshman average. A two-time First Team WGCA All-American, Zhang also established the NCAA career scoring average record with a 69.24 average in 62 career rounds.
In addition to finishing her career as a two-time ANNIKA Award recipient, Zhang was also a two-time WGCA Golfer of the Year, becoming the first repeat honoree since Duke's Amanda Blumenherst in 2008.
On April 19, 2023, Zhang reached 136 consecutive weeks as the world's leading female amateur golfer, surpassing the previous record of 135 set by Leona Maguire of the Republic of Ireland in 2018. Zhang also captured the 2023 Augusta National Women's Amateur, defeating Georgia's Jenny Bae on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. Zhang also won the U.S. Girls Junior and U.S. Women's Amateur in her illustrious amateur career.