With five-shot lead, Rose Zhang sticking with father as caddie for final round at Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Rose Zhang won’t be making a caddie change, after all.

Staked to a five-shot lead at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Zhang said Thursday that she was likely to swap out her father, Haibin, for a club caddie for the third and final round at the home of the Masters.

“Hopefully, it all works well,” she said at the time. “I believe that those caddies are the best of the best and know every single part of Augusta National. So those details and advice will greatly help.”

But the sensational Stanford sophomore apparently changed her mind even before the practice round Friday at Augusta.

“Ultimately, I feel like what we have is going pretty well thus far, and I feel very comfortable with him on the bag,” she said Friday while explaining her decision. “He’s very predictable. We know our games in and out. I think especially when you’re at the biggest stage at Augusta, it’s pretty necessary to have that comfort to be able to be yourself and do what you need to do.”

It’ll be the second consecutive year that Zhang has had her dad on the bag for the competitive round at Augusta National. Last year, playing with a fractured toe, she shot 74 and dropped to joint 12^th. She has shot 74 or worse in all three previous competitive rounds at Augusta National, opting each time not to use one of the club caddies.

On Saturday, the world No. 1 will take a five-shot lead over Andrea Lignell into the final round. There are only four players within 10 shots of Zhang’s lead.