Paula Martín had exactly 380 days without competing in Spain. Since the young 18-year-old player started her North American adventure in Stanford, she had no opportunity to step on her homeland except for some vacation days.
Paula didn’t mind the year abroad and she is the best player after the first two rounds of the European Absolute Team Championship. Two cards of 68 strokes for a total of -8. She has been seen very comfortable and enjoying at the Royal Spanish Equestrian Society Country Club: “The goal of these first two rounds is to finish as high as possible in the Stroke Play phase for teams, but there is no doubt that I am very excited to see myself at the top of the leaderboard. They have been two very good golf days, getting to know this course more to prepare the Match Play strategy”, says Paula just after finishing her second round and seeing that Spain secured a place among the top four of the first phase.
A year gives a lot and more when it is the first one you live away from home and thousands of kilometers away, but for the Madrid-born it has not been a problem: “I am impressed that I have already finished my first year in Stanford, it has flown by. Some moments may have cost me more, but I really felt super welcomed from the first moment and I enjoyed it a lot. Obviously winning the Nationals by teams has been a dream come true”.
Around Paula there is a phrase that has been repeated a lot in these two rounds. It has been practically unanimous: “How Paulita has changed”, “it is impressive how she has evolved”. It is not the one who subscribes who says it, her relatives, friends, those who have been able to train with her and those who have known her for years comment on it. Small and petite, but don’t let that smile fool you. There is a great player who is growing by leaps and bounds.
We asked the interested party herself if she has the same opinion: “Yes, compared to last year when I went to the United States, I think it has been a year of a lot of learning. I have enjoyed it a lot. I am a different person both inside and outside the golf course. I have lived unforgettable experiences. I am also living away from home for the first time and practically living inside the golf course”.
When you ask her why of that maturity and that change, Paula barely hesitates: “I think that maturity also comes from the possibility of competing with the best, having incredible teammates and studying in a place as spectacular as Stanford. I have grown a lot, both in golf, but especially personally”.
If someone knows the Madrid-born well and can attest to all those changes, it is her father Jorge: “Paula has matured a lot, now she plays with much more intelligence, fails where she has to fail and is recovering very well. If you add to that she is putting well then you can’t ask for much more. As parents it is not easy to have your daughter so far away, but when you see her so happy and joyful everything goes away. She is also growing a lot mentally. She falls and recovers, without fuss and that is very important”. She has only been a year and with all the experience she accumulates it seems that she is about to finish university.
Another close person recognizes that it is impressive how she absorbs everything like a sponge, she is observant, retains everything she sees and she is seen with a maturity that scares. She has a great capacity for work and it shows. Every free gap she has she goes to train. The other day Paula arrived tired from the Arnold Palmer Cup. Due to a flight change she had barely slept. As soon as they landed they went to train. At the end of the day they had half an hour free before the opening ceremony and a team member told her to retire to rest a little if she wanted. Paula’s answer is one of those that forge character: “It’s just that there are thirty minutes free and I can practice a little on the putting green”. Who said rest?.
