Lake Travis grads help U.S. keep Palmer Cup
Gillman, Papp play big role in dominant win vs. world team.
A pair of Lake Travis graduates helped the United States women’s golf team retain the Arnold Palmer Cup with a strong showing in Sunday’s single matches, claiming 18-of-24 possible points to defeat the International team, 38.5-21.5, at the Evian Resort Golf Club.
The U.S. women’s golf team included Kristen Gillman and Kaitlyn Papp, who graduated from Lake Travis High School in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Gillman currently competes for the University of Alabama while Papp enjoyed a spectacular freshman season at the University of Texas. The pair is used to winning titles; they teamed up to help Lake Travis win state championships in 2015 and 2016, Gillman won an individual gold medal as a high school senior in 2016, and Papp claimed her own gold medal as an individual while leading the Cavs to another state title as a senior in 2017.
Papp, the 2018 Big 12 Conference player of the year and a Women’s Golf Coaches Association second-team All-American, halved her singles match on Sunday with UCLA’s Patty Tavatanakit, the 2018 WGCA freshman of the year and the 2018 Pac12 Conference individual champion. Papp contributed three points toward the U.S. total during the four rounds of the Arnold Palmer Cup.
Sophia Schubert, Papp’s teammate at Texas and a 2018 first-team All-American according to both Golfweek and the WGCA defeated Arkansas’ Maria Fassi, a fellow first-team all-American and the 2018 Southeastern Conference player of the year, 2 and 1, in Sunday’s singles match. Schubert contributed two points toward the U.S. total over the course of the competition.
Gillman capped a week- end that saw her finish 3-1 in matches with a 4 and 3 singles win over Wenyung Keh of New Zealand and the University of Washington. After halving two of the first three holes, Gillman took the lead with a birdie on No. 4 and went on to clinch the match with a birdie on 15.
The U.S. now leads the alltime series 12-9-1. The victory is also the first for the visiting team in the Palmer Cup since the U.S. defeated Team Europe in 2010 in Portrush, Northern Ireland, and marks the first time the cup has been retained by either side since the U.S. won in 2011.
T h e A r n o l d P a l m e r Cup was co-founded by Arnold Palmer and The Golf Coaches Association of America and began at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Fla., in 1997.
The event was a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top men’s and women’s university/college golfers matching the U.S. against a team of International players.