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Rose Zhang’s Cliffside Ball Search at Pebble Beach Was Absolutely Terrifying

Zhang evoked Jordan Spieth at Pebble Beach, but in the worst way possible.

Gabrielle Herzig

Rose Zhang’s Cliffside Ball Search at Pebble Beach Was Absolutely Terrifying
Rose Zhang’s Cliffside Ball Search at Pebble Beach Was Absolutely Terrifying /

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Rose Zhang’s journey on No. 8 at Pebble Beach during the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open conjured up memories of an iconic Jordan Spieth shot on the very same hole—but for all the wrong reasons. 

At the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Spieth hit his approach shot despite being just yards away from the hole’s treacherous 65-foot cliffs, and he gave the golf world a collective heart attack while doing so. 

On Thursday, Zhang tested a similar fate when she went searching for her ball by the 8th green rather than the drop-off point at the end of the 8th fairway. 

It was clear that Zhang’s approach veered to the right and short of the greenside bunker, but volunteers couldn’t locate it by the time she approached the area.

Rose Zhang of the United States looks for her ball on the eighth hole during the first round of the 78th U.S. Women's Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on July 06, 2023 in Pebble Beach, California.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Zhang decided to venture down the steep cliffs by herself, carefully shuffling down the slopes and occasionally stopping to balance herself.

The entire process was terrifying to say the least, and the moment caught fire on Twitter. 

Memes aside, Zhang unfortunately couldn’t find her ball, and was forced to take a drop on the opposite side of the ocean inlet. 

She ultimately carded a double-bogey 6 on the hole, and dropped from 2 under on the day to even par. 

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Gabrielle Herzig
GABRIELLE HERZIG

Gabrielle Herzig is a Breaking and Trending News writer for Sports Illustrated Golf. Previously, she worked as a Golf Digest Contributing Editor, an NBC Sports Digital Editorial Intern, and a Production Runner for FOX Sports at the site of the 2018 U.S. Open. Gabrielle graduated as a Politics Major from Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she was a four-year member and senior-year captain of the Pomona-Pitzer women’s golf team. In her junior year, Gabrielle studied abroad in Scotland for three months, where she explored the Home of Golf by joining the Edinburgh University Golf Club.

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