Her Stanford uniform is adorned with a swoosh, but reigning national champion and top-ranked amateur Rose Zhang will be wearing three stripes for the foreseeable future.
Fresh off helping the Cardinal sweep the individual and team titles in the NCAA Championship, the 19-year-old budding superstar became the first college athlete to ink a name-image-likeness (NIL) deal with Adidas on Tuesday, according to a report from Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols.
The record-breaker. The Champion. The No. 1 Amateur Golfer in the world.
Welcome to #Teamadidas, Rose Zhang. We’re excited to have you join the /// family.#ImpossibleIsNothing pic.twitter.com/lWcKx48ZZ2
— adidas Golf (@adidasGolf) May 31, 2022
Zhang — who was also the 2022 recipient of the Annika Award, which is given annually to the top collegiate player in the nation — was already working with the apparel company as a member of its elite junior program. She was also the first college player to sign with Callaway and has numerous other partnerships in her portfolio.
The 2020 winner of the U.S. Women’s Amateur, Zhang is set to make her second start in the U.S. Women’s Open this week at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in North Carolina. But at this point she is not in a hurry to turn professional.
“Meeting people, building those close relationships and really just understanding what I want to do and balancing my life — I feel like college is a great tester for that,” Zhang told Nichols. “Just staying here, there’s so much more to learn. I have no idea what’s to come, but I feel like college is doing me wonders right now.”
Zhang joins a roster of young stars who represent the brand, including Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Danielle Kang, Jessica Korda and Daniel Berger.
