Every once in a while, an athlete bursts onto the professional scene and is a star immediately

Every once in a while, an athlete bursts onto the professional scene and is a star immediately. It happens in all sports, but not often. And we’re experiencing the newest wet-behind-the-ears superstar in women’s golf.

Even if you don’t follow women’s golf, you know who Nancy Lopez is. She won 9 times as a rookie in 1978. You know Annika Sorenstam. And if you’ve paid any attention to the sports news this week, you know about Rose Zhang.

She’s dominated women’s amateur golf in recent years, winning the U.S. Amateur, two NCAA titles, and 12 titles at Stanford, a school record. Yes, Tiger Woods went to Stanford.

Last week, the 20-year-old Zhang made her pro debut. She won her first LPGA tournament, a week after winning her second NCAA championship and taking final exams.

She is the first golfer to win her first LPGA title since 1951. Let me do the math for you. That’s 72 years.

What I find so incredible about Zhang is she doesn’t do anything great, but she does everything very well. Unless love and family get in the way, Rose Zhang should be at the top of women’s golf for a decade or more.