{"id":842893,"date":"2026-09-10T12:06:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T12:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/842893\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T12:06:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T12:06:33","slug":"2026-solheim-cup-why-u-s-sensation-rose-zhang-chose-the-week-before-bernardus-to-go-skydiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/842893\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Solheim Cup: Why U.S. sensation Rose Zhang chose the week before Bernardus to go skydiving"},"content":{"rendered":"

If anyone were to claim Rose Zhang as the most fearless member of the 2026 U.S. Solheim Cup team<\/a>, her teammates \u2014 11 courageous, decorated competitors in their own right \u2014 might not give much push back.<\/p>\n

As long as the skies are clear. <\/p>\n

Those were the conditions last week when the self-described adrenaline junkie went skydiving \u2014 saving news of her trip for captain Angela Stanford until her feet were safely back on the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t tell Angela until after I jumped, I should have just texted in the group chat, \u2018I landed,\u2019\u201d Zhang told media Wednesday in the Netherlands. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut we were also joking about it the previous week in Boston [at the FM Championship] that if one of the Europeans came and drove the plane, it would not be good,\u201d she added laughingly.<\/p>\n

Zhang was supposed to jump back in March but the opportunity \u2014 through a partnership with Red Bull \u2014 got bumped. <\/p>\n

Last week was Zhang\u2019s only week off where she \u201ccould essentially jump out of an airplane.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was extremely fun,\u201d said Zhang, who also loves riding roller coasters. \u201cIt just felt fitting to do it right before a Solheim.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old Stanford grad is making her third Solheim appearance, bringing in a 4-2-1 record. She was perfect in 2024 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, helping boost the Americans to a 15 1\/2 to 12 1\/2 victory over their European counterparts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally don\u2019t feel like a veteran, I feel like in the team room I\u2019m this baby that everyone keeps joking about,\u201d Zhang said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe make fun of her all the time,\u201d teammate Andrea Lee admitted. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a little baby, but she\u2019s also a veteran, so it\u2019s weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the areas for fodder in the clubhouse is song references and taste in music.<\/p>\n

Lee said there\u2019s always jokes being made if Zhang knows a track from the 2000s (she was born in May 2003).<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you guys hit the \u201890s, I\u2019m lost,\u201d Zhang said.<\/p>\n

For her part, Zhang said everyone enters this Solheim week at Bernardus with the same blank-slate record \u2014 whether it\u2019s someone making their second international Solheim appearance or a rookie like Lindy Duncan<\/a>, who Zhang sat with during Wednesday\u2019s press conference. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think everyone plays a role on this team \u2014 in the team room, on the golf course, all the same,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I think we push each other to become better and this is the one week where we can really get to know each other and our personalities get to vibe, get to have this same inherent goal of trying to win the cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Solheim<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

All you need to know about the 2026 Solheim Cup matches being held Sept. 11-13 in Cromvoirt, Netherlands.<\/p>\n

Personality fit <\/p>\n

Lee, who was Zhang\u2019s Solheim teammate in both 2023 and 2024, said their personalities match as \u201ccool, level-head California girls.\u201d <\/p>\n

The 28-year-old Lee revealed there\u2019s one element that has challenged both of their games \u2014 something that\u2019s a bit of a surprise for someone with absolutely zero objection to heights like Zhang. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe described us as the \u2018cream puffs\u2019 today on the course,\u201d Lee told reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia cream puffs,\u201d Zhang inserted.<\/p>\n

According to the Americans, they couldn\u2019t handle the cold, rainy conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndrea and I have always just done really well, just being cool and levelheaded, apart from when it\u2019s pouring rain,\u201d Zhang said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Solheim<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Mel Reid explained the real reason Hull was late for her Solheim Cup practice starting tee on Tuesday at Bernardus Golf \u2013 and it wasn\u2019t because Hull had drinks last night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If anyone were to claim Rose Zhang as the most fearless member of the 2026 U.S. Solheim Cup…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":842894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-842893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=842893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/842894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=842893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=842893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=842893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}