• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

American Gold Sports Alliance

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Media
    • Featured News
    • Diversity and Inclusion Committee
    • Youth Advisory Committee
    • Wrestling for Gold Initiative
  • Raffles
  • Radiosport
  • Try Cricket
  • Athlete of the Month
  • Camps
  • Join Our Team
    • Richard Montgomery Wrestling
    • Richard Montgomery Girls Lacrosse
  • Donate
    • Giving Tuesday
  • Contact Us

U.S. Women’s Open is a home game and a reunion for Longhorns Kaitlyn Papp, Agathe Laisne

December 9, 2020 by Tara S

U.S. Women’s Open is a home game and a reunion for Longhorns Kaitlyn Papp, Agathe Laisne

By Julie Williams | December 9, 2020 3:14

Like every other part of 2020, Kaitlyn Papp’s preparation for the U.S. Women’s Open included something non-traditional: a graduation ceremony. Not surprisingly, she didn’t walk. Instead, the Texan pulled up a Zoom link and watched the ceremony from home. She already received a cap and gown from the university and everything.

Papp finished off her degree in physical culture and sports from the University of Texas in three and a half years, a notable feat for the two-time First-Team All-American who owns two individual titles as a Longhorn.

This week, Papp is making the second U.S. Women’s Open start of her career, after playing the 2019 USWO at the Country Club of Charleston. She played her way into that event, but this year, her selection was at the mercy of the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

USWO: Photos | Tee times | TV info | First-timers | Memories

The rankings, she knows, are updated every Wednesday morning. On Nov. 4, she woke up and checked them first thing. She needed to be inside the top 20, and she was No. 19 – safely in.

“I was definitely eye-balling it most of the summer and the fall because you can’t really control the rankings,” she said. “You just try to play as well as you and play in the tournaments. It was definitely a little nerve-wracking the last couple weeks because at the time I was kind of on the bubble for making it.”

USWO: Leaderboard | Photos | TV info

It has been difficult to find events to compete in this year. Papp, who plans to return for another semester of college golf in the spring, finished in the top 25 at the Texas Women’s Open and made match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She also competed in the ANA Inspiration, teed it up twice with her Texas team and, on a lark, took a road trip to Louisiana with her dad to play the Atchafalaya Challenge, a Women’s All-Pro Tour event in Louisiana.

“It was probably like a seven-hour drive from Austin to there,” she said. “…Just decided to play and not have expectations and just use it as a warm-up for the U.S. Open. I played really well out there so it was a good confidence booster.”

Papp played a U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier at Champions before she ever arrived in college. She hasn’t seen much of the place otherwise.

There are other Texas connections, though, in the form of people. Papp will have Texas assistant coach Kate Golden on the bag in Houston. Golden, a former Longhorn, played 18 years on the LPGA and competed in more than 30 major championships.

Papp was a high school teammate of LPGA sophomore Kristen Gillman. The Austin natives still play together when they’re at home – often competing in friendly matches with just pride on the line (no trash talking) or maybe lunch. Gillman was exempt in the field as a top-75 player in the Rolex Rankings.

Papp is one of 24 amateurs in the field, 20 of whom were selected based on their World Ranking. Teammate Agathe Laisne made that list as the No. 12-ranked amateur in the world.

The USWO was a bit of a reunion for Papp and Laisne, who has a third teammate, Hailee Cooper (with whom Papp teamed to win the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball) on the bag.

Laisne went home to France in March when COVID lockdowns began, and this is her first time back.

“I went home, I was quarantined for two months,” she said. “Didn’t do golf, just studying and being with my family. It was hard because I live in a small apartment. It was different, no golf for two months.”

Since late July however, however, Laisne has made several competitive starts around Europe. It hasn’t been all that warm lately where Laisne is competing, and if temperatures dip in Texas – or if the wind kicks up – Laisne figures she might be at an advantage.

“I guess I always kind of knew I was good in the wind, but I realized more when I was in Texas because it’s always windy, and I would always play a little bit better with the field when it was windier and rainy,” she said.

Laisne was ranked around No. 50 in the WAGR mid-summer when Texas head coach Ryan Murphy put the U.S. Women’s Open idea in her head. She hadn’t been thinking about it much, but Murphy thought if Laisne could get a win in Europe, it might boost her high enough to get the exemption.

It worked. Laisne won two Ladies European Tour Access Events – the Lavaux Ladies Open and the Santander Golf Tour Lauro – and was third at the European Ladies’ Amateur. She was even penalized at the latter for pulling a yardage marker out of the ground – a violation under COVID rules.

Laisne reports her wedge game is strong and that she got on a run of good putting back home. Good timing for this big finale to a stop-and-start year.

“I just will play my best,” she said, “and try to have fun.”

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Golf, Women's Sports Tagged With: Kaitlyn Papp

Primary Sidebar

Donate Here!

Categories

Featured Posts

Introducing the Vulcan Pickleball Line in Support of the AGSA!

… [Read More...] about Introducing the Vulcan Pickleball Line in Support of the AGSA!

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Names WNBA Trio to Class of 2025

… [Read More...] about Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Names WNBA Trio to Class of 2025

2026 Expansion Team Denver Breaks NWSL Ticket Sales Record

… [Read More...] about 2026 Expansion Team Denver Breaks NWSL Ticket Sales Record

Archives

  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • February 2023
  • November 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • June 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Raffles
  • Radiosport
  • Try Cricket
  • Athlete of the Month
  • Camps
  • Join Our Team
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 American Gold Sports Alliance Inc.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy