Before starting her freshman year at South Carolina in September, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard won the Italian Ladies Amateur Championship, the Portuguese International Ladies Amateur Championship and the Grand Prix de ligue PACA Dames. She also competed in the LPGA’s Evian Championship. Since playing for the Gamecocks, Pauline has taken over the No. 1 spot in World Amateur Golf Rankings and has already recorded one win and 2 top-3 finishes. We spoke with the rising star recently to talk about her success so far and what she has in store for the future.
What is your favorite food?
Burgers, Pizzas, Tiramisu
What is your favorite emoji?
😈
What is your favorite type of social media?
I am not really fond of social media, but I like Snapchat.
Who is your favorite golfer?
I don’t have one in particular, but I really like Tiger, Stenson, Fleetwood.
What is your favorite song?
Hard to tell! Old Town Road, Lil Nas X, Billy Cyrus and Easy Lover, Philip Bailey are really good ones, really different but really good ones!
What is your favorite national holiday?
14th of July (National holiday in France and my mom’s birthday).
How do you spend your free time outside of golf?
Workout, boxing, TV shows, drawing
Who is your biggest role model and why?
I don’t know if he is my biggest role model, but I really admire Tiger for everything he has accomplished, his talent for golf but mostly for his hard work.
How/Why did you start playing golf?
My whole family plays golf (parents, brother, grandmother, aunt) so I started because it is a family passion.
What is one thing that not many people know about you?
I wanted to be a lot of things when I was a little but the best one was that I wanted to be a Navy Seal.
What was your favorite golf tournament you have ever played in so far?
The Evian Championship
What are your personal goals for this season? What are your team’s goals?
Our goals as a team is to go to the Nationals, win the Nationals and become the best team in the country. Regarding my personal goals I like keeping it in my secret garden, but it would be to obtain my card on the LPGA.
How did you decide to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks?
South Carolina best fit my expectations. The facility is just exceptional, we have 4 golf courses less than 25 minutes from the campus, we have 3 gyms, the campus is beautiful, the coaches are AWESOME, they want the best for me and support me whatever happens! I felt at home the first day I visited. It was really a feeling.
As part of our More Than Golf message, we like to teach the importance of fitness and nutrition to young girls. Do you have any fitness tips or routines that you can share with us that you use throughout the season?
My fitness tip would be to make the workout enjoyable and fun, giving you motivation to come back every day. Also, for me doing something else (in terms of sport) other than working out and golf is really beneficial. I did 9 years of judo and I have been boxing for the past 5 years and I think there’s a lot to learn in golf from different disciplines. Regarding nutrition, I think doing 80 % healthy food and 20% pleasure food like crepes, ice cream, junk food is a really good thing to do.
Currently ranked No. 1, you had an incredible summer and continued that momentum into your Freshman year. What do you think has been the strongest part of your game in the past year? If so, what is it?
I think my driving has remained really good and my short game only got better as the year went by especially since I am in college and since I have an amazing facility to work on it. But my whole game has been pretty solid.
How have you dealt with the transition from junior to collegiate golf? What are the easiest and hardest parts of playing college golf?
The transition was not a really big deal for me because college life really fits my personality. I love being busy all the time, practicing for hours, going to class, working out, travelling, laughing, and that’s what college is about. I was homeschooled for 6 years and my parents and brother taught me how to study and be efficient and I think it’s key in college to optimize time.
Do you have any advice to give to aspiring female golfers who are just starting to play the game?
My biggest advice would be that golf must remain a game and something enjoyable and fun to do, a place where you know that you can work hard but also sometimes have your biggest laughs.
It’s clear that Pauline has had an extremely successful career so far and hopes to go on to compete on the LPGA Tour in the future. Next month, she will participate in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur for the first time. “I am looking forward to every single aspect of this tournament: the organization, atmosphere, and Augusta National itself,” Roussin-Bouchard said. “But mostly I am really looking forward to having my parents and my brother come to the event and share this incredible experience with them. My brother will be my designated guest for the whole week, so it means a lot having him by my side to discover everything.” Watching Pauline’s career progress from junior golf at the ANNIKA Invitational Europe to playing in the ANNIKA Intercollegiate last year, we are really excited to see what the future has in store for her.
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