AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

April 4, 2025

Catherine Rao

Quick Quotes

Q. Rate the overall experience today getting to play at Augusta and kind of cap your annual experience in this beautiful weather on this beautiful course.

CATHERINE RAO: Rate it?

Q. Yeah, rate it.

CATHERINE RAO: Like 100 out of 10. This was amazing, absolutely incredible. The course is just -- I mean, it's a historic course, and I was always super excited to play here and it just exceeded all expectations today.

Q. How does that help you refocus, maybe reframe coming out of the last two rounds to reflect on the rest of the year? There's a lot on the table for you collegiately and then to put the summer together that you want to have to be in contention and come back next year?

CATHERINE RAO: Obviously the first two rounds, the second round wasn't the best that I could have played. At the end of the day, you're playing against the best golfers in the world. You have one bad day, and you're not going to make the cut. It's a tough cut to make. I'm just happy to be here.

Just framing it in a way I'm still good at golf. I have a lot left to do over the season and a lot left to do over the summer so just try my best with that, and hopefully be back next year to experience this again and do better.

Q. What's this field mean to young women golfers and people your age group to have this kind of competition, elite amateur competition to showcase and propel you towards the future you all have in this sport?

CATHERINE RAO: I think it's really inspirational for even us. We're playing in this, and it's so like, wow, you want to come back to this every year and want to work for every year.

Something I didn't realize was how many little kids are going to be there. They're asking for autographs and looking up to us, and I think that's super cool and a huge part of this that we really do need to appreciate the impact we can make.

Q. What's the lasting memory, takeaway for you for all the people that are part of this with you, your coaches, your caddie, the people that are there with you back at Princeton, back home, and kind of helping to celebrate this experience in who you are as a golfer and what your potential is?

CATHERINE RAO: I think it's been amazing seeing all the support flow in. Two of the guys on the men's golf team flew in today. A couple on the hockey team sent me videos, like good luck.

It's really special. You don't get that super often. Knowing there's a massive team behind me supporting me no matter how I play, it's really incredible.