Rose Zhang, 21, on juggling Stanford studies and preparing for the Olympics - and why Kelly Norda is golf's answer to Caitlin Clark!

Juggling an Ivy League course load can be a tall order for most average college students. Balancing Stanford studies and life on the LPGA Tour is another achievement altogether.

Yet somehow, amid that busy schedule, Rose Zhang has managed to find time for the Olympic dream.

The 21-year-old was heralded into the world of professional golf as the game’s next greatest rising star when she won on her LPGA debut at the Mizuho Americas Open last June - becoming the first woman to do so since Beverly Hanson in 1951.

13 months - and not even a full LPGA season later - the Irvine, California native has sealed a second professional victory, a World No. 9 ranking and a ticket to Paris.

Zhang, who is continuing her studies at Stanford alongside life on tour, will tee up alongside Gold medalist Nelly Korda and World No. 2 Lilia Vu at Le Golf National from August 7-10 in a bid to bring home the medals for Team USA.

'It’s definitely been in the back of my mind to think how great it would be to become an Olympian,' Zhang told DailyMail.com, when asked if she had spared a thought for the possibility of competing in Paris throughout her first full LPGA season.

'It’s the greatest honor to represent your country. I’ve done it before but not at the Olympics, so doing so is a dream come true,' she added, speaking on behalf of USWING Eyewear, who she credits for improving her game.

It isn't the first time Zhang will represent the Stars and Stripes, having made it into Stacey Lewis's Team USA for last September's Solheim Cup as a captain's pick. A feat she achieved just three months after her LPGA debut.

Impressive, but not entirely surprising. Zhang is a phenomenon. One who already had countless accolades to her name and broke multiple records - some belonging to Tiger Woods - before she even made the plunge into professional life.

A US Women’s Amateur in 2020, the US Girls’ Junior in 2021 and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April 2023, unprecedented back-to-back NCAA titles adorn an extensive resume, all testament to the record 141 weeks she spent as the world’s top-ranked amateur golfer.

Then come the school-record 12 victories in 20 starts at Stanford, topping Woods’ 11-for-26 mark during his time as a Card.

It’s a sort of talent that, even at such a young age, has attracted deals with Rolex, Beats and Adidas and the attention of the golfing world, even the 15-time major winner himself.

It’s talent that has fueled a meteoric start to professional life, resulting in a second LPGA victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup, a World ranking of No 9 and now an Olympic berth.

Yet the title of rising star comes with a steep learning curve.

‘I’ve realized there’s definitely been a lot more noise and a lot more people who are invested in what I’m doing,’ she said, reflecting on the adjustment she’s had to make on her journey from collegiate to professional golf.

‘I appreciate the attention, I appreciate the support but at the same time it is noise regardless.

‘I just have to understand that I don’t always have to say yes to things, especially when media, social and sponsorship obligations try to pull you left and right while you’re playing.

‘That’s one thing I really learned, especially from people within my support team. They were telling me it’s important to prioritize you and your time, and making sure you get real rest instead of busying around. That’s the biggest investment you can have in yourself. It’s okay to say no.’

Media obligations aren’t the only thing Zhang is juggling alongside life on tour. She’s also added an Ivy League course load to her jam-packed schedule.

The students of Stanford would have likely stumbled across an LPGA winner grinding away on campus instead of the driving range over the winter.

Despite turning professional, Zhang has continued to pursue her degree in communications at Stanford. After finishing in a tie for seventh at January’s season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, she took a nearly two-month-long break to continue her studies before returning to competing at the end of March.

Zhang confesses she’s in no rush to finish her studies with the goal to graduate in 2026 or even 2027, aided by leaves of absence to switch back and forth between the course and the classroom but even that doesn’t ease the pressure.

‘It’s been pretty difficult, I’m taking a little bit of a break - a leave of absence - because there’s a lot happening in the golf world,’ she admits, ‘but I am taking a full in-person course load when I’m back in Stanford in the winters, which takes its toll, I’m probably sleeping a total of four hours.

‘But being able to work alongside my friends and go through the same struggles of college life gives a different perspective - I’m not just a golfer, I can be a student and I can be all these other things.

‘Me being at school is a prevention to burnout because I’m not just playing golf and not just putting my whole identity into sport. I can also do other things and being able to be a part of a group of people who are out doing incredible things, motivates me to work harder. That’s definitely a big antidote to burnout because there’s a balance to what I want to do.’

Zhang’s launch into the limelight has created a sportstar crossover, previously revealing that NBA star Steph Curry, a figure she noted she looks up to, reached out amid her success. But it’s another basketball star she sees shades of in US teammate Korda.

Korda, the formidable World No 1, won five consecutive tournaments earlier this year which earned her a new level of fame, an accompanying invite to the Met Gala and comparisons to Caitlin Clark, the WNBA rookie who has put women's basketball on the map.

‘Nelly is definitely having a very similar if not same impact as Caitlin,’ Zhang gushes. ‘She’s putting women’s golf on the map. She’s incredible. I’m so happy for everything that she’s accomplished.

‘She must be tired but she’s living the life. She has a lot of expectation but she’s been able to excel and that’s not something that just any player can do.

‘It’s an inspiration to us, her competitors but at the same time she’s also inspiring so many young girls to get into the sport because it looks cool.

‘I think she’s growing the game in a lot of ways that not a lot of people could have imagined but here we are. She’s putting this amazing sport on the map, especially for a woman.’

Korda and Zhang will undoubtedly team up once again later this year, reprising their roles in USA Captain Lewis’s Solheim Cup team in September.

The duo, along with Vu, will headline the Americans’ revenge mission at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, where Zhang hopes to ‘run it back and grab that trophy’ in front of a rowdy home crowd outside the nation’s capital.

But first, there’s another patriotic duty. Paris is calling, and after months of grinding, Zhang is ready for La Vie en Rose.