Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Michelle Wie West were among the first to applaud the 20-year-old protégés who appear to be on the verge of greatness.

It’s a risky sport, but American Rose Zhang and Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin are both celebrating major first victories early in their professional careers.

Zhang’s victory in the Mizuho Americas Cup on the LPGA Tour was her first as a professional. Because of the excitement around this extraordinary Stanford student, American media networks brought forward final round coverage.

Despite a tense final round, Zhang did not disappoint. She won in the second extra hole against Jennifer Kupcho, the 2022 Chevron Championship winner.

This achievement comes on the heels of Stanford’s second individual NCAA title and her play-off victory in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April. No one has spent more time at the top of the women’s world amateur rankings than her 141 weeks.

Zhang wins on her LPGA Tour debut just nine days after going professional.
McKibbin wins the European Open for his first DP World Tour victory.
McKibbin thanks McIlroy for his assistance following his victory in Germany.
Woods wasted no time in congratulating the winner. “Incredible few weeks for Rose Zhang, defending her NCAA title and then winning in her Pro debut,” he tweeted. “Card, go!”

Zhang, who is represented by Woods’ manager Mark Steinberg’s Excel Sports Management organization, has acquired her playing rights on the elite women’s circuit in one tournament.

Because of her celebrity potential, she will be thrust immediately into major television groups and is expected to make her Solheim Cup debut for the United States in Spain this September.

Zhang is widely regarded as the most promising female golfer to emerge since a young Wie West broke onto the scene at the beginning of the century.

The 33-year-old Hawaiian is now retired, but she has already had an impact on women’s golf’s newest star. “She’s just such a great mentor, a great friend,” Zhang said of Wie West, who has only won one major, the US Open in 2014.

“She’s just been so encouraging from day one, especially with this week being my professional debut.”

“She really gave me some words, just to have fun, to go out there, and do what you know.”

Zhang is clever and articulate, and she plans to integrate her professional career with her degree in communications. She will almost certainly do it while garnering a degree of attention rarely seen in the women’s game.

“This has been an incredible experience, but I haven’t seen anything yet,” Zhang told reporters after receiving her first professional prize.

“I understand that there will be many bumps in the road ahead, and I anticipate many obstacles.”

“However, I believe this is just the beginning.” This is only a first step. It’s surreal that this is my first professional victory, but there will undoubtedly be many more in the future.”

McKibbin, on the other hand, has grown up receiving attention with every stage of his golfing growth, which was unavoidable given that he is from Holywood, the same Belfast club that produced four-time major winner McIlroy.

The younger Northern Irishman won the Porsche European Open on his 26th DP World Tour appearance last Sunday. His improvement has been steady, and he earned his tour card for this year by rising through the Challenge Tour rankings.

McKibbin secured his victory with a daring approach around a tree on the final hole, much to the pleasure of mentor McIlroy, who was prepping for his own Memorial title last Sunday in Ohio.

“I watched every shot this morning,” McIlroy admits. “I was overjoyed for him. He seemed remarkably composed for a man of his age.

“We’ve all known how talented he is from back home, but to break through and win for the first time at 20 years old, I believe he has a bright future ahead of him.”

“I’m just overjoyed and proud of him.” Tom has been a friend of mine since he was ten years old. And it was really amazing to watch his improvement and where he is now, as well as his first win in Europe.”

No one knows the highs and lows that McKibbin may face better than his 34-year-old compatriot. McIlroy was 19 when he won his first European Tour championship, and two years later he won a major.

However, following his fourth Grand Slam triumph in 2014, his Grand Slam titles dried up, and despite repeated successes at every other level, he is immersed in an increasingly frustrating chase to recover the winning recipe at the biggest events.

McIlroy believes he made progress at the Memorial Tournament despite dropping out of a tie for first place on the final day after his putter and wedges went cold. It’s the kind of thing that happens when scar tissue forms.

Fortunately, for players like Zhang and McKibbin, the game is currently delightfully simple. They provide us two fresh names that are guaranteed to pique our curiosity in the game.

Zhang, in particular, appears to be a generational talent who has the potential to dominate women’s golf in the coming years.

Indeed, both have every reason to be optimistic about their future careers. They are riding a very encouraging wave, which they intend to ride for as long as possible.