An Opposite of Rose Zhang but Still as Much Loved: Unconventional Journey of This Pro Towards Her Dream Leaves Golf World in Awe

LPGA professionals are gearing up for another event in Cincinnati after last week’s Portland Classic. Among the 144-player field are 12 2023 LPGA Tour winners who will compete with each other at Kenwood Country Club’s Kendale Course. One of them, of course, is the recently turned pro golfer Rose Zhang, who made her professional debut at the Mizuho Americas Open.

However, just like Zhang created history a few months ago, another LPGA star has a chance to do exactly the same. This week’s Kroger Queen City Championship, presented by P&G, welcomes a new pro into the golfing community. The golfer turned professional three weeks ago, soon after she did something arguably every “office job” professional dreams of!

Will the new professional follow in the footsteps of Rose Zhang?

A new professional, Faith Kilgore, will join Rose Zhang and many other LPGA winners in Cincinnati this week. And considering Deja Vu moments are not rare in the golfing world, this event can be Faith’s. She is entering the event as a Monday qualifier. A video on Instagram is going viral where one can see Faith interacting with the reporter. They asked her how it felt to be at the LPGA event. And she responded. “It feels surreal, I had no idea. I didn’t know where the leaders were; I never looked at the leaderboard. My caddie was kind of checking it out. And doing live scoring but wouldn’t let me know.”

Faith also mentioned what it was like to be on the course. “It was just a surreal feeling walking off number 9 and him telling me that I had made it. ” The reporter then reminded everyone that she does not have anyone here, and just turned pro just three weeks ago. He understood well that there was high stress as well as the chaos of figuring out the week. Faith agreed. Quite opposite to Zhang, who turned pro from college, Kilgore did so as a working professional. In the interviewe she further about her office job, describing what prompted her to quit.

“Yes. So I had an office job up until August 1. I decided to quit my job and just try to pursue professional golf. So I came by myself. Got a caddie from Aaron’s actually, the lead assistant pro here. So now he’ll be on the bag for me.” She told the interviewer that she was house-hopping, living with a host family who helped her with everything. They even lent her the car to drive to the course. “So really gonna be navigating the week as a first. But my family is flying up now.”

Rose Zhang was the first player to win an LPGA tournament in her professional debut in 72 years. Her name marked history because she beat her competitor in a sudden-death playoff at the Mizuho Americas Open 2023. Do you think Faith will be able to achieve a similar feat? Let’s see what the fans have to say.

Also Read: After Suffering Shame of Losing to Long-Time Rivals on American Soil, Can New Captain Stacy Lewis Retain Her Country’s Pride at the 2023 Solheim Cup?

Golf world welcomes Faith Kilgore

Faith Kilgore lives in a town outside Austin, Texas. She has eight collegiate tournament wins. And has appeared twice on U.S. Women’s Amateur. It would be interesting to see what the two-time All-American (an honor bestowed on an amateur athlete who stands out in the amateur sport) will achieve in Cincinnati.

She came from the job world to the golf world. As opposed to Rose Zhang, who undertook a golfing journey like every other professional and created a significant golfing career during her college years. Some fans commented on the brief Instagram snippet of Faith’s interview.

Perhaps referring to her zeal to navigate, one of the fans responded, “That’s what it’s all about! Great work!” Another wished her good luck for the game ahead. “Great stuff. All the best. Keep grinding.” 

One of the fans really enjoyed her interview. “Awesome. Great interview.” Another gave her a nickname already. “LETS GO FAITHYYY!” One of the golf enthusiasts justified why Faith’s caddie did not tell her anything. “Luckily she made it, but with the LPGA Monday Q’s there’s like half the field that doesn’t post live scores and that’s a problem. I don’t show my player anything because so many scores are also missing. Todays leaderboard on the app had 17 names on it and there we’re 33 players.”

And one of the fans is already confident in her skills. “MY MONEY IS ON HER FOR THE TOURNAMENT DUB!” Another one reassured her that there would always be something for her to fall back on. “That’s awesome!! That office job will always be waiting for her.”

Will you put your money on Faith Kilgore, or Rose Zhang?

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