Rose Zhang eclipses Leona Maguire's record with 136th week as world amateur No 1

Rose Zhang. Credit: The R&A.

Rose Zhang of the United States of America yesterday broke the record for the total number of weeks as the number one golfer in the women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®).

Zhang has now spent 136 weeks as the world’s leading women’s amateur golfer, surpassing the record total of 135 weeks set by Leona Maguire of Ireland in 2018.

The 19-year-old ascended to the number one position in WAGR® for the first time in September 2020 and has gone on to beat Lydia Ko’s record of 130 consecutive weeks by remaining at the top of the ranking ever since.

“It’s an unbelievable honour and a testament to a lot of hard work not just by me but by my team as well. Passing names like Lydia and Leona on any list is incredible; they’ve both gone on to have such impressive professional careers and are great role models in golf. I’m grateful for all the support I’ve received and look forward to continuing to pursue my dreams in this game.”

“I want to congratulate Rose on this amazing achievement,” said Leona Maguire. “It takes so much hard work and determination to become the world’s number one amateur golfer and to consistently hold that position for a record-breaking number of weeks shows just how good a golfer Rose really is. She is a future star of the game.”

Zhang was awarded the Mark H McCormack Medal in 2020, 2021 and 2022 as the world’s leading women’s amateur golfer, joining Maguire and Ko as the only three-time recipients of the accolade.

Notable wins in this time include the recently held Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the 2022 NCAA Championship and US Women’s Amateur two years ago. Last year, she also won the Smyth Salver as the leading amateur at the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield, finished T-11 at the Chevron Championship in 2020 and qualified for the 2019 US Women’s Open as a 16-year-old.

Professor Steve Otto, Chief Technology Officer at The R&A, said, “We would like to congratulate Rose on this record-breaking achievement at the highest level of women’s amateur golf, as well as her recent success at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She has consistently delivered outstanding results for some time now and continues to show why she is so highly regarded in the sport. We look forward to seeing her compete in the AIG Women’s Open once more at Walton Heath this year.”

“Rose continues to build upon an exceptional amateur career, and all of us at the USGA would like to congratulate her on this incredible record-breaking achievement,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer. “She has become a role model to so many young girls around the world and has consistently performed at the highest levels. We know this is only the start of what will be a long and impactful career in the game.”