Barbara J. Paul, Class of 1990

Barbara J. Paul, class of 1990, was truly a pioneer in the sport of golf for women at a time when girls had few opportunities in the predominantly male sport. Playing every single match of her four-year Varsity letter-winning career from the men’s tees and against male golfers, Barbara was an intense, focused and competitive leader of Peddie’s golf team from 1987 to 1990. She helped the Falcons capture the Mercer County Championship and the low round of her career was an even par outing against Wardlaw-Hartridge. This achievement is all the more impressive when one considers that she would have been below par had she competed from the women’s tees. However, Barbara’s achievements and contributions to athletics at Peddie go far beyond individual scores or match victories. She set the pace for young women golfers with her passion for the sport and her willingness to compete against the boys without any special treatment. The many young women now playing golf at Peddie have Barbara to thank for opening the door to the sport of golf with her commitment, dedication and talent.

As a student and as an athlete, barbara’s Peddie career was characterized by the outstanding qualities of integrity, leadership, loyalty, compassion and assiduousness. She supported her fellow teammates at all times and once she had completed her round on the course, she would wait to support the players coming in. She often made herself available to the less talented golfers and to her teammates, offering advice and encouragement. She was a persistent worker who was always refining her game to allow her to compete at such a high level. Her self-discipline was evident in her wonderful talent of recovering from a bad shot and making the next one count. Barbara was one of the hardest-working golfers to attend Peddie, male or female.

Upon graduating from Peddie, Barbara moved on to Auburn University where she had an outstanding college career in a sport that was just emerging for women. She currently holds several records at Auburn and is distinguished as one of the top Alumni Women’s Golfers. She holds a place in the Auburn record boards as the third lowest 18 hole score with a round of 69 and second lowest 54 hole score of 215. More impressively, Barbara is ranked amongst the top ten season averages and was the individual champions of two major college tournaments. During her junior and senior year campaign she was named All-Southeast Conference for her fine performances.

Throughout her days at Peddie, Barbara had a dream of playing on the LPGA tour. Peddie helped Barbara build the foundation to pursue this dream and she is not likely to abandon her quest. She is currently playing on the Futures Tour just below the LPGA, and she continues to work on reaching her goals. She has made a great mark in the history of Peddie golf and we expect her legacy in the sport will continue to grow.