The RoundHouse | 9/19/2025 1:48:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop

Amelie Paul is playing better golf, in part because she thinks less about golf when she is on the course.

Earlier this month, she asked Wichita State women's coach Tom McCurdy to walk with her during a tournament. She wanted to talk, but not about golf. She wants to think about on golf when she heads to the tee box. In between holes, she wants to refresh golf thoughts

"Your brain cannot stay focused for five hours," she said. "Sometimes (McCurdy) talks to me about the weather, or everything except golf. That will help me a lot. It's just random things, and not important things at all."

That improved concentration and patience is helping Paul as she starts her sophomore season with the Shockers. She finished in a tie for seventh in the Jayhawk Invitational with a seven-over-par 223. That score led WSU, although she competed as an individual. She finished 13^th in the Payne Stewart Invitational with a 222, a career low, second among the Shockers.

Paul, a sophomore from France, competed in nine tournaments as a freshman with a high finish of 21^st.

"She's a fierce competitor and that's big for her," McCurdy said. "If you're in a dark alley and you want somebody on your side, it's Amelie."

That is why her request for a walk sticks in McCurdy's mind.

"Staying patient is a really key principle of golf, but not necessarily how she's wired," he said. "I'm thankful she recognizes it and wants coaches to help her develop. She's got all the shots, but it's the discipline and the patience that she is getting much better at."

When McCurdy sees her after a bad shot, he reminds her that great players do that – and great players recover quickly and move to the next shot. Last season, he said, one bogey would turn into two or three. This fall, she is putting mistakes behind her.

"We start talking about breathing, just slow your breathing down, slow your process down," he said. "Refocusing your mind on the next shot, not what happened in the past. She's recognizing it, and that's huge. And then she's inviting help."

After a year at Wichita State, Paul is more comfortable in a new country and the new aspects of golf in college. She played tennis and skied in her younger days, and she credits those devoting time to those individual sports with developing her competitive streak.

"I just love the feeling when you do something, not only in sports, really well and you finish first, or in a good position," she said. "Every single sport I did is in competition, because in my mind, if I do something, I have to be the best."

Wichita State continues its fall scheduled starting Monday in the Johnie Imes Invitational in Columbia, Mo. McCurdy is happy with the team's fourth- and second-place finishes in the previous tournaments. Senior Mackenzie Wilson owns two top-10 finishes and a 74.2 stroke average, tied for Paul as tops on the team. Sophomore Kayla Van de Ven also owns a top-10 finish and a stroke average of 74.8.

"It was great to see the girls thrive and see what we've done over the summer," Van de Ven said. "Our second-place finish (in the Payne Stewart Invitational) we just had was outstanding. But we knew we could do better."

Van de Ven, who joined the Shockers in January, is also an important piece of WSU's improvement. She competed in all six tournaments last spring. She is from New Zealand and is adjusting to missing her parents. Staying organized and on task with to-do lists helps.

"I still get the love through a phone screen, but it just doesn't hit the same," she said. "When I'm not able to call them because of the time difference, I rely a lot on my diary that is in my bag. I started that last semester, in the spring, and I think that's what helped me a lot."

McCurdy considers this group the deepest he's had in his 19 seasons, including Missouri Valley Conference titles in 2015 and 2016, at WSU. With seven golfers capable of good scores, he likes the odds of getting four playing well in tournaments. After the Payne Stewart Invitational, the Shockers told coaches they under-achieved a bit, despite driving home with a trophy.

"They're just a good group of coachable kids," he said. "I can't wait for them to light it up. I think we're due."

Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
 
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