Rose Zhang

2022 - Stanford

Stanford freshman and the world’s top-ranked female amateur golfer, Rose Zhang, is the winner of the prestigious ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel, recognizing the most outstanding female NCAA Division I college golfer for the 2021-22 season. Zhang, the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Golfstat and Golfweek/Sagarin college rankings, captured the 2022 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships Individual Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club by three shots at 6-under par. The freshman from Irvine, Calif., burst onto the collegiate golf scene at Stanford in the fall by winning her first three events in the college golf season. In total, she recorded seven top-two finishes in finished inside the top-10 in all nine events during her freshman campaign.

Zhang is the third freshman overall and the second-consecutive freshman from Stanford to win the ANNIKA Award. As a result of winning the 2022 ANNIKA Award, Zhang receives an exemption to compete in the 2024 Amundi Evian Championship, one of the LPGA Tour’s five major championships.

“It is truly an honor to win the 2022 Annika Award and to have my name alongside all of these great players who won this award previously,” said Zhang. “It is safe to say I know everyone of these names. Just seeing all of these names and being given this award by the greatest player ever in Annika brings a lot of inspiration to me to keep getting better. Not only is it an award for golf, but it is also for character. Being voted as the winner by my peers and coaches is truly amazing.”

“Rose has had an amazing freshman year at Stanford, culminating this week in capturing the NCAA individual national championship,” said Sorenstam, who captured the 1991 NCAA individual championship at the University of Arizona. “I’ve seen her play the past few years at our foundation tournaments and have watched her grow. Golf is in good hands when you have players like Rose. It validates what we do in celebrating these wonderful young women both on and off the golf course.

“Stifel has been a proud supporter of college golf for more than a decade, and our commitment to the sport and the future success of its rising stars grows stronger each year,” said Ron Kruszewski, Chairman and CEO of Stifel. “As an organization with an abundance of top women performers, we are honored to be a presenting sponsor for such a prestigious award. Rose Zhang has had a magnificent freshman season at Stanford, and we salute her remarkable achievements.”