SS PODCAST: LPGA Tour pro Rose Zhang on golf success, humility, identity in Christ
Aug 13, 2024THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST
WITH JASON ROMANO, FEATURING ROSE ZHANG
Rose Zhang is a golfer on the LPGA Tour who was a highly decorated college golfer. She enjoyed one of the greatest amateur careers ever at Stanford, where she won the NCAA championship in 2022 and 2023.
In May 2023, Zhang won her first professional tournament, the Mizuho Americas Open, becoming the first player to win her professional debut on the LPGA Tour since 1951.
Today on the podcast, Rose Zhang discusses her journey as a professional golfer and the role of faith in her success. She discusses the peace and chaos of turning pro, the importance of prayer and guidance from God, and the impact her faith in Jesus has had on her career. She emphasizes the significance of glorifying God in her victories and the role of faith in guiding her decisions.
Editor’s note: This interview took place prior to the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Zhang finished tied for eighth at 5-under.
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U.S. golfer Scottie Scheffler takes emotional gold at Olympics, maintains identity in Christ alone
Aug 5, 2024As American golfer Scottie Scheffler stood atop the podium at the Paris Olympics and listened to the tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner” resound from the speakers, with his wife, Meredith, and their newborn son, Bennett, looking on from the stands, tears came to his eyes.
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With a flurry of birdies, Scheffler — the No. 1 golfer in the world — had just surged from four shots back at the start of Sunday’s final round, and six shots behind midway through it, to capture the gold medal for the United States.
He shot a 9-under 62 (tying the course record) Sunday and won by one stroke over Englishman Tommy Fleetwood. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama took the bronze. Scheffler’s 19-under 265 across 72 holes is an Olympic record.
Profound emotions for Scottie Scheffler hearing the Star-Spangled Banner after winning Olympic gold. 🥹🇺🇸
📺 Golf Channel and Peacock | #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/kgsOVOBZjD
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) August 4, 2024
“It’s been a long week. It’s been a challenging week,” Scheffler said in the post-round press conference. “I played some great golf today, and I’m proud to be going home with a medal. … It was just very emotional being up there on stage there as the flag is being raised and sitting there singing the national anthem. That’s definitely one I’ll remember for a long time.”
Scheffler was on the practice range, busy preparing for what he thought would be a playoff, when he was told he had secured gold after Fleetwood just missed a 100-foot shot on the 18th green.
The moment Scottie Scheffler became an OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST. 🇺🇸🙌
📺 Golf Channel and Peacock pic.twitter.com/gMVfc7erux
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024
His gold-medal performance in Paris was rather fitting, considering Scheffler already had recorded one of the more impressive seasons in recent golfing history. The 28-year-old has won six PGA Tour tournaments this year, including his second career Masters title (his first was in 2022).
When asked in Sunday’s press conference about how adding an Olympic gold to his growing list of accomplishments impacted his legacy, Scheffler said he hadn’t given it any thought.
“That’s not really something that comes to mind,” he responded. “I love being out here competing. It’s one of my favorite things in the world to do and it’s a great joy in my life. I’m proud to be out here competing. As far as my legacy goes, I really don’t think about it too much. This is just part of my life that I do out here and it’s something that I work very hard at. I’m proud to be sitting here with a gold medal.”
As good as he may be and as often as he may win, Scheffler has never been one who is too wrapped up in his identity as a golfer. He says his identity lies elsewhere.
“The reason why I play golf is I’m trying to glorify God and all that He’s done in my life,” he said after his Masters win in 2022. “So for me, my identity isn’t a golf score.”
He reiterated that sentiment after earning his second green jacket this April.
“My buddies told me this morning, ‘My victory was secure on the cross,'” he said. “And that’s a pretty special feeling to know that I’m secure for forever and it doesn’t matter if I win this tournament or lose this tournament. My identity is secure for forever.”
“My buddy’s told me this morning … my victory’s secure on the cross.”
Powerful words from 2024 #Masters champion Scottie Scheffler after his win on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/woRSd519r2
— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) April 15, 2024
Scheffler said it was in college at Texas that he truly began to understand what Christ had done for him. Now as a follower of Christ on the PGA Tour, he actively attends Bible studies with his caddie Ted Scott — about whom Scheffler said Sunday, “Teddy always does a really good job of keeping me in the right head space” — and Scheffler co-hosts an annual ministry retreat as part the College Golf Fellowship along with friend and fellow pro golfer Sam Burns. Scheffler was also featured in the Summer 2022 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine.
“I’m a faithful guy,” Scheffler said prior to his second Masters win. “I believe in a Creator. I believe in Jesus. Ultimately, I think that’s what defines me the most. I feel like I’ve been given a platform to compete, and, you know, show my talent. It’s not anything that I did.
“… It’s hard to describe the feeling, but I think that’s what defines me the most is my faith. I believe in one Creator, that I’ve been called to come out here, do my best, compete, and glorify God.”
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
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Golfer Bryson DeChambeau captures U.S. Open while resting in ‘relationship with the Lord’
Jun 17, 2024Four years after winning his first major championship at the U.S. Open, golfer Bryson DeChambeau has done it again.
DeChambeau squeaked out a thrilling victory at this year’s U.S. Open in Pinehurst, North Carolina; his four-day score of 6-under-par was one stroke better than Rory McIlroy’s. DeChambeau began Sunday’s final round with a three-stroke lead, briefly lost it to McIlroy, then inched ahead when McIlroy bogeyed the 18th hole.
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DeChambeau, playing in the group behind McIlroy, needed a par on the final hole, and that’s just what he got.
One of the best moments of my lifepic.twitter.com/Fe1Pxkh1HF
— Bryson DeChambeau (@b_dechambeau) June 16, 2024
This one is for all of you, the support out there today was unmatched pic.twitter.com/zvjxLGTWkx
— Bryson DeChambeau (@b_dechambeau) June 17, 2024
“For me, it was knowing how good my game is, how great of a place it’s in, and just continuing to execute knowing the statistics would eventually fall my way. Still hope,” DeChambeau said in his post-tournament press conference, referencing his numerous near-misses in majors between his U.S. Open titles. “Golf, it’s a game of luck. There’s a lot of luck that has to happen and go your way out there.
“I knew if I could give my 100% effort on every single shot, I’d give myself a good chance this week.”
Earlier in the press conference, DeChambeau was asked about his thoughts on being remembered as the winner of one of the more entertaining U.S. Opens in history.
“Thankful. Just thankful,” he said. “Thankful that I was a part of it. Thankful that I accomplished something I’ve always wanted to accomplish as a kid. Gratitude and thanks.”
DeChambeau’s deep sense of appreciation is rooted ultimately in his faith. It was God, he says, who sustained him through some of the challenges he faced in between his U.S. Open victories, such as a left-wrist injury which required surgery in 2022 and the backlash he received for joining LIV Golf.
“I’ve learned so much about me as a person and my faith and whatnot through golf having been stripped away from me,” DeChambeau said, according to USA Today in 2022, before returning from his wrist injury. “It’s been a difficult time for me the past seven months not being able to play golf the way I really want to. It still is a little tough every once in a while in the hand to hit golf balls, but for the most part I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back out here.”
He continued later, “There’s more to life than golf. It’s been definitely eye-opening for me to have a close relationship with the Lord and just more importantly being happy with myself, too, and more importantly getting closer to Him.
“For me, that’s something that’s changed in my life that I’m very, very happy with, and I’m going to continue to fight, continue to be my absolute best out here on the golf course and hopefully inspire some kids along the way and do my due diligence like He wants me to.”
DeChambeau says he went to church occasionally growing up in Modesto, California. However, it wasn’t until he went off to play college golf at SMU that he read a book by Wes Neal titled “The Handbook of Athletic Perfection,” and it truly changed his life.
“What it talked about all the way through was how to play sports like Jesus would play sports,” DeChambeau wrote in a first-person story for Links Players in 2016. “It captured the dynamic between being ultra-competitive and being as gracious and kind as possible, and it resonated with me.
“When I got to the tournament, I said to myself, ‘OK, I’m going to give my life to Christ and try to act like Him in every single situation and do my best for Him in every single situation, whatever comes about. If it’s a bad situation, I’ll look at it as an opportunity for me to show my patience, my resilience, my grace. Or if I do something great, I’m still going to be patient and graceful and kind and respectful to others.'”
DeChambeau pointed to that realization as the moment he realized the significance of Jesus’ salvation, and he says that it completely reversed his perspective on golf and all of life. Instead of striving to work for the approval of others and his own approval, he was already free in Christ to point others to Him in all he did, including on a golf course.
“That was the change that allowed me to start understanding God’s love for me and Jesus’ love for me as well, and what He truly did by coming down here and saving all of us,” DeChambeau wrote.
Now the 30-year-old DeChambeau — who has said that his favorite Bible verse is Colossians 3:23 — is gaining a reputation as one of the more entertaining characters in the sport. From his occasional on-course interactions with fans to his YouTube channel to his Instagram page, DeChambeau has let his personality show like few others.
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He posted a video to his pages recently in which he was wearing a shirt featuring three nails arranged in the shape of a cross.
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DeChambeau will seek to continue to live out of a disposition of gratitude, all while entertaining fans and seeking to point them to Jesus.
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
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Scottie Scheffler wins 2nd Masters in 3 years, says he uses his talent ‘for God’s glory’
Apr 15, 2024For the second time in three years, Scottie Scheffler is leaving the Masters Tournament at Augusta National in a new green jacket.
The No. 1 player in the world cemented his spot at the top of the golfing hierarchy by pulling away from the field down the stretch. He won by four strokes with a four-round total of 11-under par. Sunday’s triumph was Scheffler’s second career major, the first coming on the same course two years ago.
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The Masters champion. The man to beat. #themasters pic.twitter.com/MgRV57E4FJ
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 15, 2024
On a leaderboard peppered with golf’s biggest stars, Scheffler was unquestionably the man to beat. Entering Sunday’s final round with the outcome still very much in doubt, the 27-year-old got a much-needed reminder that his true victory has already been purchased on his behalf.
“I love winning. I hate losing. I really do,” Scheffler said in his post-tournament press conference. “And when you’re here in the biggest moments, when I’m sitting there with the lead on Sunday, I really, really want to win badly. And my buddies told me this morning, my victory was secure on the cross.
“And that’s a pretty special feeling to know that I’m secure for forever and it doesn’t matter if I win this tournament or lose this tournament. My identity is secure for forever.”
“My buddy’s told me this morning … my victory’s secure on the cross.”
Powerful words from 2024 #Masters champion Scottie Scheffler after his win on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/woRSd519r2
— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) April 15, 2024
He continued later, saying, “I believe that today’s plans were already laid out many years ago, and I could do nothing to mess up those plans. I have been given a gift of this talent, and I use it for God’s glory.”
The comments are similar to what he said after his first Masters win two years ago, when he was asked how he balances his desire to compete — which is fierce — without letting it define who he is as a person.
“The reason why I play golf is I’m trying to glorify God and all that He’s done in my life,” he said then. “So for me, my identity isn’t a golf score.”
On the Tuesday before this year’s tournament, Scheffler was again asked what defines him.
“I’m a faithful guy,” Scheffler responded. “I believe in a Creator. I believe in Jesus. Ultimately, I think that’s what defines me the most. I feel like I’ve been given a platform to compete, and, you know, show my talent. It’s not anything that I did.
“… It’s hard to describe the feeling, but I think that’s what defines me the most is my faith. I believe in one Creator, that I’ve been called to come out here, do my best, compete and glorify God.”
“I believe in Jesus. Ultimately I think that’s what defines me most.”
The number one golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler, shares what defines him. pic.twitter.com/LoFnoySJY5
— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) April 9, 2024
Scheffler and his wife, Meredith, are expecting their first child later this month. Meredith, who is often amongst the crowd cheering her husband on, is back at home in Dallas preparing for the birth. Scottie said he’d leave the Masters if she went into labor, regardless of the situation. It never came to that, but he shared that he was able to talk to Meredith via FaceTime on Sunday.
“She just asked me if she could pray for me,” Scheffler said. “And I actually wasn’t able to talk to her very long this morning, which was unusual. She sent a lot of prayers. My neck was bugging me a little bit. Just prayed for some healing and prayed for a lot of peace out there.”
With the sports world watching, Scheffler’s boldness in sharing about his faith in Christ has swiftly gained traction on social media, but it’s nothing new for him. Scheffler said it was in college at Texas that he truly began to understand what Christ had done for him.
“I would say it’s easier for me to rely on the Lord when things are bad than when things are really good,” Scheffler said in 2023 on the College Golf Fellowship podcast. “… I think one of the most profound things in my walk of faith is recognizing my need for a Savior, not believing that I could connect with God but believing that God was the One connecting with me.”
Following his initial rise to world No. 1 and first Masters victory, Scheffler was featured in the Summer 2022 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine, in which he shared about how he lives out his faith while being a successful professional athlete.
“My identity is not as being a Masters champion — is not what I shot — and that frees me up a lot,” he said. “God has given us a skill we feel we’re using for His glory.”
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
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