Rose Zhang of The United States plays her tee shot on the 13th hole during the final round of the AIG Women's Open at Muirfield Scotland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

In recognition of her outstanding performance as an amateur, the R&A offered the American a special exemption to compete for the major world-class championship.

This will be the 20-year-old's third time at the AIG Women's Open, but her first as a professional, following her official announcement this week. Zhang made her 2021 debut at Carnoustie, where she missed the cut by one point.

Last year, Zhang shot 72, 70, 70, 73 for a total of 285 at Muirfield and won the Smyth Salver as the top amateur player.

Zhang said, " I am very honored to have received a special exemption for the AIG Women's Open at Walton Heath. I would like to thank the R&A for giving me this incredible opportunity at the very beginning of my professional career and I hope to make the most of it. « I have fond memories of winning the Smyth Salver at Muirfield last year and was proud to see my name featured alongside so many big names on that trophy. This year, I will participate in the AIG Women's Open for the first time as a professional. The AIG Women's Open is a championship I would love to win one day and if it was at Walton Heath it would be very special"

Zhang made history as an amateur, having spent 141 weeks as the number one golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®).

She reached #2020 on the WAGR® for the first time in September 130 and broke Lydia Ko's record of 135 straight weeks staying at the top of the charts until she turned pro. Last month, Zhang also surpassed the 2018-week record set by Irishwoman Leona Maguire in XNUMX.

Zhang received the Mark H McCormack Medal as the top female amateur golfer in the world in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Among her other amateur accomplishments, she is the first player to win two NCAA individual titles after successfully defending the title of the NCAA Division 1 Women's Championship this week. It thus exceeded the number of victories of Tiger Woods when he was a golfer at Stanford University.

Zhang also won the Augusta National Women's Amateur last month and the US Women's Amateur two years ago. She also played a major role in Team USA's Curtis Cup victories over Great Britain and Ireland at Conwy and Merion in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

Martin Slumbers, Managing Director of R&A, said: “ Rose Zhang is an incredibly talented golfer who has already written her name in the history books as an amateur golfer. It is very rare that we grant a special exemption for the AIG Women's Open, but we believe that Rose's outstanding achievements to date warrant her inclusion in the Walton Heath field. « Enjoyed seeing Rose win the Smyth Salver at the AIG Women's Open last year at Muirfield and hope she makes the most of her opportunity at Walton Heath this year"

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