Even by Kaitlyn Papp’s standards, it’s been a busy year. The Texas Longhorns sophomore and world’s 26th-ranked amateur turned the most heads with her fifth-place finish at the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April, but that’s hardly been her only time on the front page of a leaderboard. In her last nine months, Papp has tallied seven top-10 finishes, an appearance in the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup (she’ll be on the 2019 team too), and a second-place finish at the Big 12 Championship (helping lead Texas to the team championship). Papp and her Texas teammates will be the top seed at their regional in Norman, Okla., from May 6-8, at a South-heavy site also featuring Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Florida, and Texas A&M.
. . .
LYING FOUR: I was just looking at your page on the World Amateur Golf Rankings website, and you’ve had an insane month. You were seventh at Auburn, fifth at Augusta; you finished second in the Big 12 Championship, and you guys won the team championship. Has it been fun or exhausting?
KAITLYN PAPP: It’s been more fun than exhausting. I didn’t realize it’s only been a month since I’ve played all those tournaments. It’s been a lot of fun. I’m just happy to have had some good results.
LYING FOUR: You spent some time as a kid in Japan, right?
KAITLYN PAPP: Yes.
LYING FOUR: What was that like?
KAITLYN PAPP: It was awesome. I was 4-8 years old at the time. My dad was in the Navy, stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. I went to elementary school on the base, but still we got to experience Japanese culture, try out the food, and go to the beach. It was a really fun place to live.
. . .
LYING FOUR: So how did you get invited to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur? I was never quite sure whether it was purely by invitation or whether there was some sort of de facto qualifying process.
KAITLYN PAPP: The Augusta committee sent out invitations in the mail, very similar to the Masters invitations. And the invitations were based on your WAGR ranking. I think the top 30 Americans had priority, and they made their way down the list after that.
LYING FOUR: Did you have a heads-up that this was coming before you got your actual invitation?
KAITLYN PAPP: No, they never e-mailed us or called us saying that we were invited, but I think a good amount of us knew based on our rankings that we would most likely get invited. But it wasn't official until you got it in the mail.
LYING FOUR: Do you remember getting that in the mail?
KAITLYN PAPP: Yeah, I actually wasn’t home. I was at the golf course. But my sister was home for Christmas break. So she picked it up for me and waited until I got home so I could open it. I was just really, really happy and excited to officially be invited. I was in awe to get an invitation like that in the mail.
LYING FOUR: Had you been to Augusta National before?
KAITLYN PAPP: No, I hadn’t. About a month before the tournament, me and two of my teammates took a practice trip out there, so we were fortunate to get out on Augusta a month before. But before the invitation, I’d never been to Augusta.
LYING FOUR: Did you get to drive up Magnolia Lane?
KAITLYN PAPP: Yes. We got to drive up it, I believe, twice. It was amazing.
. . .
LYING FOUR: So on Saturday, in the third round, standing over that tee ball on the first tee — what is that like? I would still be standing there. I don’t think I could take the club back.
KAITLYN PAPP: I think everybody was probably a little bit nervous because of all the people that were there. We’d never seen crowds that big. So it was a new experience for everybody playing on Saturday. You had to just kind of block it out of your mind and focus on what you were trying to do.
LYING FOUR: Outside the magnitude of the event and the pressure of playing at a place like Augusta National, was there anything about the course that surprised you?
KAITLYN PAPP: On TV, the course looks very flat, especially the fairways. The fairways have a little bit more slope than you would think. So you didn’t have a lot of really flat, even lies out there. You wouldn’t be able to tell just from watching on TV. And the greens lived up to the expectations of just being really fast and having a lot of break, especially break that you wouldn’t imagine when you’re reading the putt.
LYING FOUR: I’ve only been once. I remember walking along the 10th fairway — it’s like a ski slope. But you would never know from TV.
KAITLYN PAPP: Right.
LYING FOUR: What was your favorite hole out there?
KAITLYN PAPP: I would say No. 12, the par 3. I don’t know why it’s my favorite. I just think it’s the prettiest hole on the course with all the flowers behind the green. I think that’s the most memorable.
LYING FOUR: Is it one of those situations where it’s a little hair-raising early on, but once you get a few holes under your belt it’s all the same? Or were you walking on eggshells the whole round?
KAITLYN PAPP: On the putting greens, you had to really respect them the whole round. On the first green, I felt like I barely hit my putt, and it went 10 feet by the hole. I made it coming back. So I had to adjust in my mind, “OK, these are a lot faster.” [laughs] But my speed got better during the round.
LYING FOUR: Did you meet anybody cool while you were there?
KAITLYN PAPP: Bubba Watson was there on the tee box that morning. He wasn’t there when I teed off, but I got to meet him after the round. And I met Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Lopez; I met Annika Sorenstam again, Lorena Ochoa. So it was really cool.
LYING FOUR: I remember back in 2016, when golf was going to be played in the Olympics for the first time in forever, people were excited to be participating but had a hard time pegging where it fit in their career accomplishments, just because it was so new. Have you had time to figure out how your performance compares to other achievements in your career?
KAITLYN PAPP: I feel like it’s up there with one of the top achievements so far. It’s probably up there with the strongest field you’ll see all year, along with the U.S. Amateur. It had the most elite field, and we played two really great, challenging golf courses. All around, it was just a great event to play in.
. . .
LYING FOUR: What does the future hold for you?
KAITLYN PAPP: I definitely want to play pro golf and see where that takes me. That’s been my dream since I was probably 10 years old.
LYING FOUR: Before you make that jump, what do you see in your game that you’re doing really well, and what do you need to improve on?
KAITLYN PAPP: Just tightening up my short game is the big thing. Putting is everything on the LPGA Tour. And just trying to get a little more distance off the tee and through my bag. Just tightening the little things up.
. . .
All photos: credit Texas Athletics