Rose Zhang surged to victory at the 2024 Cognizant Founders Cup on Sunday, as Nelly Korda fell short in her final two rounds to end her historic winning streak on the LPGA Tour.
Zhang, 20, birdied four of her last five holes in her final round to finish two shots ahead of Sweden’s Madelene Sagström – with the duo finishing way ahead of the rest of the pack – at Upper Montclair Country Club.
The American began Sunday a shot behind Sagström, but produced some excellent, attacking golf to move ahead, maintain her lead and claim her second LPGA Tour victory.
“Honestly, today has been a roller coaster. I think from the start of the day, just coming out, it was raining, it was cold. I knew it was going to be a grind,” Zhang, who finished 24-under par for the tournament, said afterwards. “I think coming out I had those expectations of today I really have to find it in me to even play well, let alone win.
“And Madelene has been playing rock solid golf. She’s been blowing away the field so just been trying to keep up. I think that was the mindset going in. I didn’t have any expectations because I knew coming out here there was going to be a lot of golf to play.
“A lot of mistakes could have happened, can happen, and I just have to be able to take whatever I have out here. So that was the whole day. Starting from [hole] one, hit the pin and definitely did not expect that, but it was a nice little save. And going from there was able to hit some close. Gave me a little bit of momentum just in my own round.”
In June last year, Zhang became the first player in 72 years to win an LPGA tournament on her professional debut. She turned pro having become the most decorated player in the history of women’s amateur golf, signing off by becoming the first women’s golfer to ever win back-to-back individual NCAA national titles.
Ever since her breakthrough victory at the Mizuho Americas Open last year, Zhang struggled to find consistency and that winning touch again.
But the young star looked back to her best during the Founders Cup, putting in a complete performance in New Jersey as she carded rounds in the 60s in all four of her rounds; this was the first time she has done so since becoming an LPGA Tour member.
Her statistics over the tournament highlighted her dominance, ranking first in most birdies, the most greens hit in regulation and the player who needed the fewest number of putts.
After her victory on Sunday, Zhang spoke about the increased “expectations” put on her “to perform” after what she did in her professional debut.
“Sometimes, the noise did get to me a little bit, but I had such a good support group around me. I had people who really stuck in and told me to take it one at a time,” she said.
“It’s crazy to come out here. Didn’t have any expectation of having to win because I realize that it’s all just noise, and I have to be able to work at it myself and try my best to put myself in positions like this. But no matter what happened this week, I would’ve been very satisfied and it reignited my passion for the game once again.”
Sunday’s result ended Korda’s dramatic, historic winning run after she emerged victorious in five consecutive tournaments earlier this year and was aiming for a sixth in a row, which would have earned her the outright record, at the Founders.
However, despite a strong start to the tournament, the world No. 1 faded away as it progressed, eventually finishing tied for seventh and 17 shots behind Zhang.
Even though her win-streak came to an end, Korda fondly reflected on her run after her finish at the Founders.
“Yeah, gosh, hasn’t even sunk in. Probably maybe now – or maybe in like 10, 15 years – it’ll sink in,” the 25-year-old told reporters. “Hopefully, someone beats it one day.
“But just to do that with all the competition out here is super, super rewarding with how much work that I’ve put in. So I think to get a streak like that in any sport in general is amazing with the amount of talent that I feel like every athlete has in their sport.
“Just an amazing feeling and, hopefully, one day it’ll sink in.”
