The Chronicle celebrates one of Duke's most successful decades by honoring our top 10 Devils of the Decade. Each Tuesday, The Chronicle will feature one of the selected athletes. Today we profile athlete No. 5, Jenny Chuasiriporn.
It wasn't until the May of her senior season that Jenny Chuasiriporn had her first breakdown. For possibly the first time in her entire career, Chuasiriporn was not all smiles.
She stood on the practice green of the University Club in Blythwood, S.C., having just watched her Blue Devils finish fourth in the Regionals they were supposed to dominate.
Chuasiriporn's spring slump had continued that afternoon, as she could only muster a 17th-place finish. She stood there, silently practicing her putting as her emotions slowly boiled inside of her. Then, for the first time, she lost it.
"It was the first time I ever realized what she was carrying around in her-the kind of pressure and expectation and the build-up that she was carrying around with her," coach Dan Brooks said. "She just finally had a little bit of a breakdown, just emotionally got very upset. She was always the solid one all the time, and that was the first time that I realized that all along she was really carrying a lot on her shoulders."
In a game in which emotional outbursts occur on a hole-by-hole basis, it's a testament to Chuasiriporn that she held out as long as she did.
On the course, Chuasiriporn toted an always reliable scorecard. Off it, she was armed with an equally reliable smile.
And although it was difficult to see his star struggle, looking back, Brooks sees a strange beauty in it. It is
"Here she was, someone who everyone counted on so much on and off the golf course," Brooks said. "And then for her to come into the spring and be the one that needed to rely on everybody else, I just think that was an almost poetic end to a four-year career where friendship and camaraderie and dependence on others was such a big part of her existence on the team. Everyone depended so much on her, and then she had to turn around and depend on everyone else."
Chuasiriporn's four years at Duke were supposed to be capped by a dominating performance at the NCAAs, but that never came. Instead, Chuasiriporn struggled all week with her tee shots and at one point stopped using her driver entirely.
Duke's star limped over the finish line of her stellar career. But when it was all over, it didn't matter.
The thing that mattered most to her-her friends, not her golf game-won her the coveted title she dreamed of since she was a young girl growing up in Maryland.
"This means everything to me," Chuasiriporn said after the tournament. "It's been a goal for me for so long. And to actually know the last four years have built up to this, it's a great feeling."
Those four years were nothing less than phenomenal, and not just because of her golf scores. This past week, Brooks received a verbal commitment from a top prospect. After calling everyone on the team, he called Chuasiriporn. After all, next to Brooks, she, more than anyone, built this team.
"I really think Jenny has a lot to do with the way this team has sort of evolved," Brooks said. "She was only here four years, but it was a high-impact four years. She really helped to bring out the best in people.... She gave us the optimal way to be on a golf team as far as how you support and care for one another and the way you keep the atmosphere light. She just had a delightful balance to her life."
And although those who knew Chuasiriporn will remember the attitude, those who never met her know the accomplishments. She was a three-time All-America and Golfweek's player of the year in 1998. But more memorable than anything she ever did at Duke was The Putt.
Not many will ever forget the 40-foot birdie putt that forced a tiebreaker at the 1998 U.S. Open. Her response after the putt fell in-that look of sheer shock, excitement and almost embarrassment-was the innocent reaction of a young woman having a great time and enjoying the moment for everything it was worth.
After the Open, Chuasiriporn never considered going pro. She wanted nothing more than to return to Duke. She loved college and she loved her team.
"These four years have summed up what golf means to me," Chuasiriporn said after the NCAA Championships. "The team play and the team camaraderie is what I like about golf, and it's why I play this game."
But that May afternoon on the practice green, Chuasiriporn realized that all of it was coming to an end. Four years of golf, friendship and fun were just about over.
It was that realization that finally erased the smile off Jenny Chuasiriporn's face.
It was just about the only thing that could.
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