LPGA rookie Rose Zhang will represent the United States when it plays Europe in next month’s Solheim Cup in Spain.
Zhang and four other players, Jennifer Kupcho, Danielle Kang, Andrea Lee and Lexi Thompson, were confirmed Monday as the final automatic qualifiers for the U.S. team that will compete against Europe at Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain, on Sept. 22-24.
World No. 1 golfer Lilia Vu, world No. 2 Nelly Korda, U.S. Women’s Open winner Allisen Corpuz and Megan Khang had previously qualified for the squad.
U.S. team captain Stacy Lewis rounded out the team with three captain’s picks, selecting Ally Ewing, Cheyenne Knight and Angel Yin.
Zhang, a rookie from Stanford, and Thompson qualified for the squad by being the highest-ranked American players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking not otherwise eligible for the team.
Zhang, 20, was a two-time NCAA individual national champion at Stanford and won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April. On June 4, she won the Mizuho Americas Open in her first LPGA start. She became the first woman since Beverly Hanson in 1951 to win in her LPGA debut.
