(Photo credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images)

Although Rose Zhang has been on the scene now for the better part of a decade, golf never has been her primary focus.

She always balanced school with competing in LPGA events -- before and after she turned pro in 2023.

But after wrapping her coursework in March, she's set to walk in her Stanford graduation ceremony on June 14 and receive her degree in communications.

As she prepares to compete at this week's U.S. Women's Open in Pacific Palisades, Calif., the 23-year-old finally can give golf her sole attention.

'It's honestly crazy to say that,' Zhang said Wednesday in a news conference. 'I feel like I've never taken a break up until now. I feel like (the) last two weeks that I haven't been playing was the first real break that I've given myself. Once I came back, everyone is like, 'Did you lose weight? Did you grow taller?' I'm like, 'No, I probably just slept and rested.' My cortisol levels probably lowered by half.'

Zhang, who made her U.S. Women's Open debut in 2019 at 16 years old, originally didn't qualify to play this week at Riviera Country Club. She was the first alternate for the event after coming up short in a four-person playoff on May 11 during the qualifying event at Essex County Country Club in West Orange, N.J.

However, her tie for 12th place at the Kroger Queen City Championship later that week was enough to lift her into the top 75 of the Rolex World Rankings and earn a guaranteed spot.

While this marks the 23-year-old's eighth straight U.S. Women's Open appearance, she hadn't been required to play in a qualifier since 2019. That provided some perspective about her journey.

'In my head, (I said), 'Wow, this is what it's like to be grinding for a position out here.' All the girls are so competitive, they're so good at golf. I felt like I needed to take a step up and try my best,' Zhang said. 'Grinding and coming into the U.S. Women's Open, I think really helps me realize that the fight is still in me, and I want to prove something, I want to do something in professional golf. So here I am, and it was quite a journey to say the least.'

While it was in doubt, the Irvine, Calif., native now gets the opportunity to play in the major in front of a large group of friends and family at Riviera Country Club, which is about 60 miles from her hometown.

'I'm just so grateful,' Zhang said. 'It will be really cool to just experience that with everyone.'

After winning the NCAA individual championship each of her first two seasons at Stanford, Zhang went pro in May 2023. She then won her first event as a professional, the Mizuho Americas Open, to make her the first LPGA competitor to do that since Beverly Hanson in 1951.

She has won just once since, though, at the 2024 Cognizant Founders Cup. After three consecutive top 10 major finishes in 2023, she hasn't finished in the top 25 at a major since. That includes missing three of the last five cuts.

But with her schedule suddenly opening up a bit after the precarious balancing act between her education and golf, she enters with a newfound approach.

'(My journey) made me realize that professional golf is really the lifestyle. You have to make sure that you're resting. You have to make sure that you're working hard, but the rest component is all-encompassing and it's a part of your actual performance,' Zhang said. 'I'm hoping the rest and the prep work will help me.

'It's a start. It makes me excited to be feeling good when I enter tournaments. Even when the game isn't there, I think it's still good to say that I'm not always fighting my body when I'm out there competing.'

--Field Level Media