Paula Martín from Madrid is the first Spaniard to get a scholarship to study at Stanford, the Californian University considered among the ten best in the world.  She has won this place by right, since her spectacular grades are added to her title of current Absolute Spanish Champion. This title has earned her a place in the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open in Spain, competing with Cayetana Fernández and Carla Tejedo for the recently created Celia Barquín prize.

Little but strong, the seventeen-year-old Paula Martín has both the maturity and the absolute self-confidence  of a winner. She is a tireless worker. We have seen her going to the range as soon as finishing every day of the Spanish Open. She is aware that nothing just falls in your hands but that successes are earned with perseverance and a lot of effort: “I believe that with a good organization and knowing your objectives, you can reach and fulfill everything you set your mind to. My idea was to combine the golf side with the academic in the best possible way and Stanford is the number one. I did everything possible to enter and in the end all the work I put in paid off, I’m really happy”, explains Paula and she continues: “I am very self-demanding, not only in golf, but in every aspects of my life. I believe that the fact that you push yourself and that you want to be better every day is very important to continue improving.”

Stanford University is renowned for the quality of its teaching, its wealth and its proximity to the Silicon Valley, home to some of the world’s largest high-tech companies. Paula is still not sure about the career she is going to follow. As the first years are core in the American university system,  she prefers to know a little bit more about the subjects  before making her choice. Despite her sporting victories, she is not sure about becoming  a professional player: “I couldn’t tell you right now because I think this is more a long-distance race and I’m  still very young with a  long way to go. I believe that you have to go step by step: first finishing school, then getting an University degree, and if I still see myself in a good moment, try it of course.”

It was Paula’s father who experienced thisOpen with her, caddying for her. Curiously, as it is usual in our young promises, it was not him who introduced her to this sport: “It was a friend, who invited me to a golf course one Sunday to spend the day. I liked it so much that the following year , I took up golf as an extracurricular sport and little by little I was taking it as a more serious thing, but my family had never played before. Now my brother and my father play too. I’m quite a geek, I really like watching it on TV and I think you learn a lot of things that you don’t see on the course. All the competition routines of the pros are very good and learning from them is great. Seeing it on TV, apart from seeing it in person, is the best thing you can do.”

During this Open, Paula has been able to see the best players live at Alferini Golf: “These types of weeks are the ones that help you to see where you are, because the European professional golf elite gathers together at Let. Carlota Ciganda is a reference not only for me but also for our entire generation. The opportunity of playing together in the same championship this week  is something amazing. Being able to measure ourselves against these players is even better.”

Paula’s game is quite regular, her strength is the shot to the green and she knows  the importance of the mind during the competition: “I think that the mental aspect is fundamental in any sport, but even more so in golf. I would say it’s important to handle yourself when things don’t go well for you. Trust yourself and know what you’re capable of to get back on your game and get back up there. I know what I am capable and when the work is done, I keep training. Going out onto the course is just the final step of everything I have been doing. I think you have to stay calm, concentrated but above all keep going enjoying this sport and the competition”.

Paula Martín’s only regret in going to Stanford is not being able to participate in the PING Junior Solheim Cup 2023. It is a right that she had earned, together with Anna Cañadó, through the Objective 2023 program, created by the RFEG and Deporte & Business and whose goal is to encourage competition among young golfers who can qualify for the European team. But we are sure that, judging by her career, we will surely be able to see her as a professional in some future Solheim Cup. Go for it Paula!