"Their reactions were a bit dull"- Rose Zhang recollects her parents' reactions to her qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics

Rose Zhang is one of the U.S. representatives at the Paris Olympics women's golf competition. The 21-year-old is also one of the world's top young golf stars while continuing her undergraduate studies at Stanford University.

Zhang's rise in professional golf has been so meteoric that she made the highly competitive U.S. team after just over one year of playing as a pro.

Speaking to Women's Health about the moment her parents heard the news about her qualifying for the Olympics, Rose Zhang said:

"Their reactions were a bit dull compared to some others' reactions. When the results were finalized, they were like, 'Oh, cool. Good job.' Not necessarily anything too crazy. It was very, very chill."

Rose Zhang's parents are used to hearing extraordinary news from their daughter. She is one of the most decorated players in the history of amateur golf, and in just one year as a professional, she is already ranked in the top 10 in the world.

Rose Zhang's parents, Haibin Zhang and Li Cai, have been among the biggest supporters of her career. In fact, Haibin is with Rose in Paris as her caddie.

Zhang is currently ranked 9th in the world. She joins world No. 1 and No. 2 Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu on the U.S. roster.

---

Rose Zhang's first round at Paris Olympics at a glance

Rose Zhang began her first round at the Paris Olympics golf tournament with a bogey on the first hole. She then parred two consecutive holes and tied the score with a birdie on the 4th hole.

From there, Zhang parred three consecutive holes and bogeyed the 8th, but quickly tied the score again with a birdie on the 9th. Her score after the front nine was even par.

She had a similar story on the back nine, parring the 10th and bogeying the 11th, before hitting a birdie on the 14th to tie the score again. However, she could not break par, as she finished the day on even par.

With this performance, Zhang finished the first round in a tie for 13th place. She shares this position with several world golf stars, such as Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, Atthaya Thitikul, Amy Yang and Maja Stark.

Leading the tournament is local star Celine Boutier at 7 under. Boutier played her round with eight birdies and one bogey to take a three-stroke lead over Ashleigh Buhai.

Zhang will play her second round in a group with Hannah Green and Charley Hull. Her tee time is 5:44 a.m. ET.

Rose Zhang began her professional career in June 2023, winning her first tournament, the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open. Since then, she has added another title (2024 Cognizant Founders) and seven other top-10 finishes to her resume.