Junior Madison Riggs has established herself as a leader on the course and in the classroom throughout her first three years with the UC Irvine women's golf team. In the truncated 2019-20 season, Riggs recorded a team-best scoring average of 75.79 across 19 rounds and registered a top-10 finish at The Gold Rush. She is also a two-time WGCA All-American Scholar and was named to the 2020 Big West Spring All-Academic Team.

The Burbank native attended John Burroughs High School prior to attending UC Irvine, where she earned first-team All-Area honors on two occasions and was the Mike Torres Award recipient for Best Female Athlete.

Q: Can you describe your emotions when you heard that the golf season had been canceled in response to the coronavirus pandemic? 
A: Selfishly, I was bummed because I had been playing well and was looking forward to continuing that momentum into the conference championships. However, I completely agree that canceling the season was in the best interest of everyone; golf is not more important than our safety or the safety of others. 

Q: How were you introduced to the game of golf? What motivated you to continue playing at the collegiate level? 
A: My dad is a professional golf coach, but I actually played soccer instead of golf until I was 16. After I suffered a concussion and had to quit soccer, I realized I had the potential to play D1 athletics in golf instead and I took that opportunity. 

Q: What do you think is the toughest aspect of the game of golf? 
A: The toughest aspect of golf is knowing that you can be completely prepared, practice for hours and have your swing perfect, but still struggle. Golf is unpredictable that way which is why you see pros miss cuts the week after winning an event. 

Q: Which club do you enjoy hitting the most? 
A: My 8 iron is my favorite club. I use it to work on my technique on the range, and have hit my best shots in tournaments with that club. The first time I shot under par in a tournament I had a stock 8 iron on the last hole and I hit it to 5 feet for birdie to shoot one under. 

Q: Do you have any rituals or traditions before playing each round? 
A: I claim to not be superstitious, but I do eat a banana while I walk to the first tee before every round. This is more practical than a ritual because I have a tendency to forget to eat during rounds, which hurts my game considering we are on the course for at least five hours and sometimes over 10 hours. 

Q: Who has had the biggest impact on your success both academically and on the golf course? 
A: My parents have had the biggest impact on my success because from a young age my dad told me the only things I can control in life are my effort and my attitude. I internalized this saying and apply it to everything from studying to putting practice to rounds that get off to a bad start. They have both supported me in everything, they cheer me up when I play bad, they take care of me when I'm injured, and they encourage me when I run out of energy towards the end of a quarter.

Q: Why did you decide to continue your education at UC Irvine? 
A: Coach Brooks gave me an opportunity to play golf when I was still new to the game and I took it. Also, I have always been serious about academics and UCI is a strong academic school which was the perfect fit. 

Q: What are your career aspirations? 
A: I plan on playing professional golf for as long as I can. 

Q: What are some things that you enjoy doing in your free time? 
A: Since I spend so many hours outside at golf, when I have free time I'm usually laying in my bed binging TV shows. Also, I go out to dinner multiple times a week with my family (prior to covid). This is important to me because we are very close and it's fun to play with my baby cousins and talk to my grandparents about golf since they are my number one fans. 

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? 
A: Scotland to play Saint Andrews with my dad, the home of golf.