Not everyone would describe being the lead story on SportsCenter as "a good conversation starter."
Then again, not everyone would talk about their quick rise to fame as if it were just a normal occurrence.
Jenny Chuasiriporn took the sporting world by storm with an incredible run at this summer's U.S. Open, but now that the 21-year-old senior is back at Duke, she sees her celebrity status as nothing that spectacular.
"I've gotten a lot of double looks [on campus]," Chuasiriporn said at a press conference yesterday afternoon. "I think people see me then it kind of clicks in their head.... People say I'm a celebrity, but I don't see myself as one."
At the Open, Chuasiriporn fired an all-time low for an amateur and won the support of thousands around the world before finally falling to champion Se Ri Pak in a 20-hole playoff. Her 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that forced the playoff, and her half-ecstatic, half-shocked, half-embarrassed reaction afterwards, made national headlines and was rebroadcast on television countless times.
She got a congratulatory letter from President Bill Clinton, and shortly after, the Maryland resident even got to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game in Camden Yards.
"I've really enjoyed every moment," she said. "I can't imagine being Tiger Woods, with all the stuff he would get; I don't know how I'd handle that much publicity."
Chuasiriporn's story was not just a local one; it became widely publicized around the world. In Korea, where Pak
is from, the story was on the front page of all the newspapers. Pak is now a national hero. In Thailand, Chuasiriporn's extended family was able to watch her play live at 3 or 4 a.m. local time.
"I learned about all the international attention the Open got-that's crazy," she said. "My family in Thailand said it was pretty big, lots of articles in the paper and on TV."
Later in the summer, Chuasiriporn solidified her fame while finishing second at the U.S. Amateurs, falling to another Korean golfer, Grace Park. But now that she's become famous around the world, is she happy to be back at Duke where, although she is definitely a high-profile student, she is still relatively anonymous?
"I don't want to be that visible," Chuasiriporn said. "Duke is like a safe haven. I just love every part of being here."
Visibility is definitely something Chuasiriporn shuns. Her parents own a Thai restaurant in Maryland, and when they wanted to display Jenny-related paraphenilia in the restaurant, Chuasiriporn would have no part of it.
"I hate that; I don't want anything up there," she said embarrassed. "I just don't like it to be up there."
Since the Open, Chuasiriporn has been pursued by agents, and no doubt turning pro before her senior year would have been quite prosperous financially. But she never considered jumping
"I definitely can wait for the Tour," Chuasiriporn said of turning pro early. "There's no need for me to rush it. I don't want to be out there now. I like being here, I wanted to finish ever since I started. My biggest goal is to win a national championship and I haven't done that yet. That would mean so much more to me than an LPGA Tour victory."
In her four years at Duke, this would appear to be Chuasiriporn's best chance at the goal that eludes her. The Blue Devils are ranked No. 1 headed into the fall season. While only one senior left from last year's fourth-ranked squad, Duke adds two outstanding recruits in freshmen Beth Bauer and Candy Hannemann. Back in Chuasiriporn's junior golf days, she actually lost to Bauer, who's three years younger.
Still, with such high expectations of the team, and Chuasiriporn in particular, questions loom. Woods won The Masters in grand style, and although he consistently finishes among the best, he has not matched the Masters win and people are talking as if he were struggling mightily.
"I think expectations are always good," Chuasiriporn said. "I always expect myself to win a tournament. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the team handles it.
"We'll be able to see after the fall season if expectations are too high and we're putting too much pressure on ourselves. For the most part, everyone on this team has handled all expectations."
If history is any indication, Chuasiriporn should be able to handle the new expectations just fine. In her entire career at Duke, and at the Open, she has gone above and beyond what any would have expected.
"At the Open, my goal was to make the cut," she said. "I didn't want to make a fool of myself. I just wanted to make the weekend as long as possible."
The only thing Chuasiriporn made out of herself that weekend was a star. Although she's enjoyed meeting new people because of her new status, she just wants to settle back into the routine most Duke students know all too well.
"I enjoy everything about being back," she said. "I like the environment-I like going to class, going to athletic events and just being here."
It's been a long ride for Jenny Chuasiriporn this summer, and now she's back where she started.
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