European T
our. His goal is to play himself
into full status on the European T
our and,
ultimately, to get his playing privileges in the
U.S. Golf’s an international game, he reasons.
He wants to be an international player.
“It may seem like it came quickly,” Paolini
says of the victory, though he could have
been referring to his burst from the starting
gate, “but I’ve been working hard toward it
in college and amateur golf for a long time,
and it felt good having things come together.”
TOP: ALEXIS ORLOFF/FF GOLF PRODUCTION; CAMILLA PAOLINI
PURPOSE-DRIVEN PLAN
So how did all of this happen? If you figured
this was the perfect execution of an ingenious
plan, you’d be wrong.
A pair of correspondences, one during
the most recent VSGA Amateur, the other
immediately after Paolini locked down his
fourth title in the last six years by overcoming
a two-hole deficit to defeat U.Va.’s Ji Soo
Park 3 and 2, sent the young Virginia Beach
resident on this European trip that would
make travel expert Rick Steves jealous.
“Every week is a different currency,
different language, different course
conditions, as the wind, grass and terrain
vary,” he says. “There are different kinds of
hotels and a different climate. I’m always
adapting.”
Paolini had sent requests for exemptions
to the Challenge Tour, the Web.com Tour
and the PGA Tour. During the VSGA
Amateur at The Homestead, an exemption
from Switzerland arrived. Then came an
invitation to play in the Mylan Classic, a
Web.com Tour event in Pennsylvania.
“I thought entry into those two events was
enough to justify turning professional, so I
went for it,” he says.
One shouldn’t discount the importance
that winning his fourth VSGA Amateur
played in the decision and what has come
since. In matching commonwealth amateur
legend Vinny Giles’ run of four victories in
six seasons, Paolini’s putting captured the
day in the deciding encounter. He drained
a 20-foot birdie on the par-3 22nd hole to
square the match with Kim, and took the
lead for good by rolling in a birdie putt
from 14 feet on the next hole. The match
ended with Paolini holing a five-foot birdie
putt on the 34th hole.
Paolini had a summer he won’t soon
forget. He took home the Byron Nelson
Award presented by Cleveland Golf/Srixon,
which is given annually to a graduating senior
who has demonstrated excellence both on the
golf course as well as in the classroom. He
was also named a Golfweek All-American and
a Ping second-team All-American following
his senior season. In his final year at Duke, he
led the program to its seventh Atlantic Coast
Conference Championship, the school’s first
title since 2005.
Ultimately, Paolini reflected on his highoctane play in the mountains of Virginia as he
traversed the mountains of Lucerne.
“I do think that was a launching pad for
my professional career,” he says. “During
the event in Switzerland, I thought a lot
about the way I struck the ball and putted
at the [VSGA] Amateur, a