Hello Agathe! Since early 2017, you have been studying finance at the University of Texas and playing in the college championship. Did you easily adapt to American life?

At first it was hard, I was having trouble. In the evening, I would go home and my family, I necessarily missed my parents, I no longer dined with them. The rhythm of the days is very sustained in addition, you have to work a lot at school, there is the gym early in the morning, golf ... It became easier for me from the second year thanks in particular to my " teammates ”, who have become my friends.

Do you sometimes miss France?

Not too much this year because with the health crisis, I spent eight months in France (Laughter). It's true that the food in the United States is not very healthy, but at the same time the Texans are very nice ...

Did you run into JR?

Who ?

JR, the villain in "Dallas". It was an American series that hit in the 80s and ... well anyway, whatever. Otherwise, do you have the opportunity to sometimes cross swords with Céline Boutier, who also trains in Texas?

Not really, because she's in Dallas and I'm in Austin (laughs)…

Between the end of August and the end of October, you have chained four victories * including two on LETAS, but also a 3^e and a 4^e square. How do you explain this beautiful end of the season? Do you think you've reached a plateau?

I do not feel like I have taken a step forward. I just worked a lot with my coach Vincent Loustaud. At the beginning we reviewed some specific points of the swing, then we worked on the trajectories of the ball and finally the little game. It's a general job that we did.

At the end of September, at the Lavaux Ladies Open in Switzerland, you went back 7 moves then won a three-way play-off against the Slovenian Pia Babnik and your compatriot Agathe Sauzon. You put in a putt of more than 5 meters for birdie which gives you the victory. What is going on in your head before that famous putt?

I had had the same to play shortly before on the 18th to be able to play the play-off, even if it was shorter, about 3 meters. I just tried to visualize the slope, which I knew. I was still stressed, the putter was shaking but it still came in.

The weather was very bad that day. It seems that you like to play in these extreme conditions ...

Yes, I like it a lot when it's rainy or windy. I know half of the field hates it, so I take advantage of it.

Precisely, at the end of October in Santander in Spain, you won your second tournament on LETAS without playing the last holes, because of the weather ...

It rained a lot on the last day and the greens were no longer absorbing water. The games were stopped and when we resumed, the fog immediately fell and the last lap was canceled. As I was in the lead, I won. Obviously, the feeling is different, it's always more fun to win on a putt and there was more joy in Lavaux. But I was still happy to lift the trophy.

What is your best memory as a golfer so far?

Having played in the Arnold Palmer Cup International (in Orlando in 2019). It is a competition where there are 12 girls and 12 boys of the American college championship, with America against the rest of the world. It's always nice to team up with players that you face the rest of the year in the league. Golf is an individual sport and I like to share, laugh… that's why I love playing as a team.

We even see you shaking hands with former President Bill Clinton on this occasion… **

Yes, but I was not born when he was president (Laughter). And we didn't really discuss it, he just shook my hand and congratulated me.

Last year, you also had the chance to play the Augusta National Women's Amateur, on a course that makes all golfers dream. It must have been quite an experience ...

This golf course is amazing. Everything is perfect, even the sidewalk for pedestrians, there is not a blade of grass sticking out, the shopping carts are chic with their all white outfit. There is the club house too… The course goes up and down everywhere and the greens are really very fast. It was magnificent, a very beautiful experience.

Do you remember ever playing on such difficult greens?

No, apart from Evian perhaps.

What is your goal for next year and your dream as a golfer?

My goal is to turn pro and play the LPGA cards in 2021. But my dream would be to meet Tiger Woods. I love the way he plays and what he represents.

Have you ever done a hole in one?

I did one eight months ago at the last college tournament in South Carolina. To counter the left-right wind, I wanted to play draw and the ball did exactly what I wanted. It was really nice to see her roll in the hole and celebrate it with the others.

Apart from golf, what are your interests?

I really like to laugh with my friends or play other sports like volleyball, tennis or badminton.

Interview by Franck Crudo

* The Medoc Grand Prix and the Saint-Germain Grand Prix, then the Lavaux Ladies Open (Switzerland) and the Santander Golf Tour Lauro (Spain) counting for LETAS.

**https://www.instagram.com/p/By2zvkOI4FF/