“That rib was in my golf bag for a solid 24 hours” - Rose Zhang shares one of the whackiest WITB

Golfers tend to carry the most bizarre things in their bags, but it's hard for anyone to top Rose Zhang at the 2023 NCAA Championship. The then Stanford University student and star player carried nothing less than an actual human bone.

It is fair to say that Rose Zhang carried this unusual load in her bag without being aware of it. The matter came to the public eye during a press conference given by Zhang during one of the rounds of the CME Group Tour Championship that ends this Sunday, November 19, at the Tiburon Golf Club in Florida.

The story involves Rachel Heck, Rose Zhang's teammate at Stanford. Months ago, Heck underwent surgery to treat her thoracic outlet syndrome. The surgery included the removal of her first rib.

Heck began carrying her rib inside the jar, put by the doctors. That's how she carried it with her to the NCAA championship. During a practice session, she put the rib bone inside Zhang's golf bag and left it there.

Zhang said of that, according to Golfweek:

"Safe to say that I didn’t carry it with me throughout the tournament, but I can tell you that that rib was in my golf bag for a solid 24 hours. And, yeah, we came back and it was like that’s the most low-key disturbing thing that we could have done with her rib."

Both Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck have their names inscribed in NCAA women's golf history. Heck won the individual title as a freshman in 2021. Zhang, meanwhile, also won in singles in 2022 and 2023, the only player to do it two times to date.

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Rose Zhang at CME Group Tour Championship

The first season as a professional is closing in style for Rose Zhang. Playing the 15th hole of the fourth round of the CME Group Tour Championship, Zhang is T17, with a score of -12. Her performance so far includes 21 birdies, seven bogeys and one double bogey.

Zhang's professional career began just in June 2023. Since then, she has played 14 LPGA Tour tournaments, with one victory as her best result (Mizuho Americas Open, her debut event).

Her results also include four Top 10s and 12 cuts made. Her performance has been particularly relevant in the Majors, as she has finished in the Top 10 in three of the four in which she participated as a professional.

Despite playing only half a season as a professional, her outstanding performance earned her a call-up to the Solheim Cup. It also allowed her to finish in the Top 60 of the LPGA Tour rankings, qualifying for the CME Group Tour Championship.