Rose Zhang has withdrawn from JM Eagle Championship, citing injury in an Instagram post, and her return to the LPGA is uncertain.
Zhang didn’t indicate what the injury was but after she conceded two matches in pool play last week at the T-Mobile Match-Play, broadcasters talked about the injury appearing to be an upper body injury from the shoulders and above.
If you read one of Zhang’s lines saying “it’s going to be a long and patient ride,” it certainly casts doubt on when she will return.
The JM Eagle Championship is April 17-20 in Tarzana, Calif. It’s the closest tournament to her hometown of Arcadia, Calif., since the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship in Palos Verdes was canceled.
The LPGA is off this week—during the Masters Tournament—so Zhang is withdrawing for the following week. The week after the California event is the LPGA’s first major of the year, the Chevron Championship, April 24-27, at The Club at Carlton Woods in the Woodlands, Texas.
“Safe to say, things haven’t been too hot for me in the golf realm and I found myself struggling to compete in high spirits due to an injury. This isn’t a sob story,” she wrote.
“While this period is unique and frustrating, I find great optimism in getting better and working hard to compete at the highest level. Thank you so so much to my team, sponsors, family, and friends for supporting me in this process. It’s going to be a long and patient ride, but it’s always a blessing to do what I do and have what I have. That being said, I will be pulling out of the JM Eagle event in LA to help aid my recovery. Hope to see y’all soon.”
The 21-year-old Zhang—ranked 19th in the world—had barely returned from taking a full load of classes at Stanford before the injury. After a top-10 finish at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions to start the year, she took two months of to return to school for a quarter. Upon her return, she played in the Ford Championship in Arizona where she shot 73-70 and missed the cut, then had a short stint at the T-Mobile Match Play.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
