Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck are close friends who swap titles at Stanford and now have something else in common besides winning: Both have signed with Excel Sports Management for Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) representation.
Zhang, the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world and Golfweek’s top college golfer, joins Heck in the Excel NIL stable. Heck, the 2021 College Player of the Year, signed with Excel last fall and counts Ping and Stifel among her growing number of partnerships.
“Since all of this is relatively new,” said Zhang, “I wanted to take my time.”
Zhang spoke to Golfweek after class on Wednesday on her way to see the trainer. She had accidentally slammed her left ankle with her wedge on Monday while warming up on the range at the Lamkin Invitational. She limped during the first day of action – a double-round day – and said she could barely walk when she woke up on Tuesday.
“I half-swinged everything I could look at,” said Zhang, who hit the ball 20 yards shorter throughout the final round, closing with a 75 to finish in a share of fourth. Prior to the Lamkin, Zhang was undefeated in college golf, having won her first three starts.
“Top 5 isn’t too shabby,” said the level-headed Zhang. “I feel like it was more meaningful, just because it took a lot of grit in me to try to manage and get through the round.”
USA Team members Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck watch players from the Great Britain and Ireland Team during play at the 2021 Curtis Cup at Conwy Golf Club in North Wales, United Kingdom on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (Oisin Keniry/USGA)
Heck won the individual title at the Lamkin, bringing her to a total of seven career titles, two shy of Stanford’s record of nine, set by Andrea Lee. San Jose State won the team title, bringing Stanford’s undefeated season to an end.
Zhang has enjoyed the winning, of course, but she’s also enjoying so much more of what Stanford has to offer.
“Coming into college, I didn’t really know what the dynamic of everyone would be like,” said Zhang. “I didn’t know how everyone acted around each other. There is a sense of intimidation because it is Stanford – this is like the top one percent of a lot of the students in the nation.
“I had a little bit of imposter syndrome coming into college.”
The humble Zhang counts a sailing trip with friends from her dorm, a regular Bible study, and a newfound appreciation for football among her favorite things so far, having attended three Cardinal games.
Her favorite class is a required writing course that’s focused on the rhetoric of success. A timely topic for an athlete who sits on top of the world.
Zhang said she hasn’t yet fully defined what success means to her, but her working, simplified definition centers around being happy with where she is in life while gaining a sense of fulfillment by doing what she loves surrounded by good people who support her.
It would seem that Zhang has found what she’s looking for in Palo Alto.
“Success is … there’s many versions of it,” she said. “I don’t really know my specific definition.
“Right now, it’s pretty good.”
As for what comes next, Zhang maintains that anything is possible. She could turn pro after one year of college, and she could stay as long as four years. Having the opportunity to make money off the golf course may take away some of the burden off her shoulders, she said, but she doesn’t expect NIL sponsorships to be a determining factor in whether or not she turns pro.
“I feel like it’s just when I think I should try,” she said, “I will.”