WATCH: Jon Rahm sends message to 20-year-old golf phenom
World No. 2 Jon Rahm has congratulated collegiate standout Rose Zhang on recently turning professional.
Rose Zhang continues to be the talk of the golf world this week, and now even World No. 2 Jon Rahm has sent a congratulatory message to the 20-year-old standout ahead of her professional debut.
Rahm, 28, had his own impressive collegiate career before turning professional in 2016.
As an Arizona Sun Devil, the Spaniard won the 2016 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award, was the first two-time recipient of the Ben Hogan Award, and finished his time in the NCAA with 11 collegiate wins.
And like Zhang, Rahm was the World No. 1 Amateur when he finished his collegiate career.
However, not even Rahm's impressive resume compares to what Zhang has done in just two years at Stanford University.
The California product broke numerous records in her impressive NCAA career.
The greatest collegiate golfer ever.
12 wins in 20 tries. 8 wins this season. Back-to-back National Champion! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/RYTpOFYKK3— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) May 23, 2023
In April, she won the Augusta National Women's Amateur, setting the new tournament 18-hole record along the way.
Shortly after, she broke the record for number of week's as the No. 1 amateur in the world, which she had held for 136 consecutive weeks by mid-April.
A week and a half ago, Zhang won the NCAA individual championship for the second straight year. It marked her eighth win of the 2022-23 season alone, and 12th of her career at Stanford.
Earning a dozen wins in just 20 starts also broke the Stanford golf record for most career collegiate wins. The previous record holders of 11 includes 82-time PGA Tour winner Tiger Woods.
This week, Zhang is making her highly-anticipated professional debut at the LPGA Tour's inaugural Mizuho Americas Open. She announced she'd be making the jump last week in a post on her Instagram.
Ahead of her debut, fellow Callaway pro and current Masters Champion Rahm, wished his fellow Augusta National winner good luck:
"Hi Rose, well I wish I was looking a little bit better, but it's the life of a pro," Rahm said in a video posted to the Callaway Twitter account. "Just currently waiting outside the gym to be open."
He added:
Here's the full clip:
.@JonRahmpga with a congratulatory message for Rose Zhang as she turns pro pic.twitter.com/y9siFhWAqD
— Callaway Golf (@CallawayGolf) May 31, 2023
Another member of the Callaway family is the legendary Annika Sorenstam, who won an incredible 72 victories during her professional career.
She also sent a congratulatory video to Zhang through Callaway ahead of her debut.
"Hi Rose, just want to congratulate you on turning pro. You've had an amazing amateur career. So proud of you for achieving pretty much everything you can," said Sorenstam.
Here's her full clip:
A message from the @ANNIKA59 to Rose Zhang ahead of her pro debut pic.twitter.com/ASTB9j60rV
— Callaway Golf (@CallawayGolf) May 31, 2023
Zhang will begin her pro career Thursday in New Jersey at Liberty National Golf Club. She's set to tee off 8:43 a.m. ET.
