To win a career Slam, or all in one year?
All in one year.
Right now life on tour includes Mom and Dad. Will that always be the case?
I'll eventually be on my own. It might be Mom only or Dad only. Until I can learn what it's like to travel, it's good to have them both with me.
That's contrary to what most 19-year-olds might think.
Well, there are times when I want to say, "Let me do it; let me learn." We have that all of the time. I say, "I can stay on my own. I can have my own room." They say, "Well, will you go to bed? Will you turn the lights out?" I say, "Yeah, eventually." They do so much for me. I don't even know everything they do for me. If all of a sudden they left, it'd be culture shock. I think I'd lose my focus on the course.
Is your dad hard on your boyfriends?
I have this one guy friend who was so scared of my dad he didn't talk to him for five months. Finally I told my dad, "He is so scared of you; you should get to know him." So he did. My dad was like, "There's nothing to be scared of." I guess he gives off that vibe, but he's really great with my friends. He knows I have to be very focused, and my friends know that as well. It's all about golf.
What was your worst date?
I wasn't allowed to date until I was 16, when I started dating Tarik Can. I met him at the academy. We've been dating for about three years; he's 20 now, playing golf at Augusta State. Tarik says he thinks he can get me on Augusta National. I have to work on that.
I guess our first date was kind of weird. We walked to it because neither of us had our driver's license. We walked to Beef O'Brady's. Have you even been to Beef O'Brady's? It's like a sports bar. When we were walking there I was like, "Where are we going?" I thought we were going to go to a nice place. There's nothing wrong with Beef O'Brady's, but for a first date, that was a little weird.
Are you a better golfer than Tarik?
You can't ask these questions! I think I am. He doesn't think so, but I do. But we don't play golf together anymore because it's too competitive.
As a girlfriend, are you high-maintenance?
Probably. I expect a lot. [Laughs.] But he's also high-maintenance.
Have you had any marriage proposals?
It actually happens a lot. At Solheim Cup these guys had these big signs: "Paula, will you marry me?" They were older than me. I mean, gosh. I get asked out on dates a lot. Which is weird. There was another one in Rochester; he asked me to marry him. Someone asked me to go to prom with them. I got asked to go to graduation.
What do you say?
I just laugh. I say, "What are you doing?"
Where will you be in 10 years?
Ten years? I'll be 29. . . . Hopefully I'll have accomplished everything I want to: I'll have played good enough golf, and I'll have made tons of money. I want to play golf until I win the Grand Slam. I want to have a family. I want to have children. I've always wanted one girl, like me. Now I think I want to have a boy, so I'm leaning toward one boy and one girl. No more than two.
What if you have triplets?
Oh, boy. My mom better live close.
You can have a family and children and continue to play at the highest level? Juli Inkster can do it, so why not? She's an incredible woman; I admire her so much. She has it all. Family. She loves what she does. She has fun, and she's done so much for women's golf.
What if golf doesn't work out? What if five years from now you're out of the game?
That's a scary thought. I'd be going to school. I'd want to be doing something in the fashion industry, but I don't even want to think like that.
You have one putt for your life. How far can the ball be from the hole and you'd still feel comfortable making it?
For my life? An inch! If I'm putting for my life, I'd be nervous.
An inch?
I don't want to die! I might go with, "hanging on the lip." That might be better. I feel comfortable from five feet, six feet, seven feet, but we're talking about my life. I mean, Helllloooo.
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