Blessed with immense talent to match her considerable humility, Rose Zhang takes aim at the U.S. Women’s Open this week at the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links, the site of a collegiate highlight.

While playing for Stanford in last September’s Carmel Cup, Zhang posted a 63 — a women’s course record.

Zhang, 20, recalls the event with the kind of focus she has used to become a breakout star in 2023.

“That week was just a week of pure excitement,” Zhang said Tuesday. “… But that 63 as well, it came as a blur. It was the second round, and I was preparing myself to just be able to hit fairways and greens because that’s what you have to do here.”

Taking on the challenging and “tiny” greens, Zhang was on target all day. She received a report on her round from one of the caddies that showed she hit all 18 greens in regulation — a huge boost when playing at Pebble Beach.

“So that’s basically what I did,” Zhang said. “I was able to shoot a low number. I was making a lot of great putts. Yeah, it was just a pretty dreamy week.”

She carried the momentum into this year, and Zhang’s past three months have been a highlight reel. She dominated college golf, winning the Pac-12, NCAA regional and NCAA individual championships. She won the amateur championship at Augusta National. And she won the Mizuho Americas Open in her first professional tournament last June and finished tied for eighth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Now, she is favored to win the U.S. Women’s Open, which opens Thursday.

“It’s just such an honor being the betting favorite,” Zhang told Golf Channel on Tuesday. “I would have never imagined myself to be in this position starting out last month. But it’s really cool.”

This course setup will be a challenge, Zhang said, and different from the layout for the Carmel Cup.

“The tee boxes are going to be a little further back.” she said. “By the time it comes to Thursday, we are going to be having some quick greens, so that’s definitely going to change up a lot of how we’re playing this week and how we’re going to use numbers and figure out bounces.”

Zhang’s mental game is also at an advanced stage, and she said preparation can make the obstacles easier to overcome.

“I’ve always already put that in my mind that professional golf is going to be very difficult,” she said, “so with that kind of mindset, later on when I actually did come over to the professional world, I already prepared myself for all scenarios of just being able to grind, not having the greatest luck, and that puts me in a position where I can expect everything.”

And that includes building on her early success with a big effort at Pebble Beach this week.

“When things come out good, I just roll with it,” she said.

–Field Level Media