Instead of moving back to campus with the rest of her Blue Devil teammates, Beth Bauer is trying to move herself into the LPGA.
Two weeks after announcing that she will forego her final two years of eligibility at Duke, Bauer joined two of her former teammates, Jenny Chuasiriporn and Amie Lehman, in Venice, Fla. at the annual LPGA Qualifying Sectional Tournament.
The three women shared only one season at Duke, when Bauer slowly but surely dethroned three-time All-American Chuasiriporn as the Blue Devils' most dominant player. Duke's flashy freshman finished all but one tournament tied or ahead of Chuasiriporn during the 1999 campaign, a run that culminated in the program's first national championship when Bauer outshot her elder teammate once again.
Fifteen months later, it was more of the same as Bauer inched ever closer to her LPGA dreams by shooting a 69 in Wednesday's second round at the Plantation Golf Club. The top 30 finishers following today's round will advance to the LPGA Tour's Final Qualifying Tournament in October.
While Lehman finished Wednesday tied for 67th and Chuasiriporn wound up in a tie for 10th, Bauer tallied one of only three marks in the 60s to position herself fourth overall with a two-day total of 142.
Ranked No. 1 in the final Golfweek/Titleist amateur rankings, Bauer has proven at every opportunity that she has the ability to compete on the professional circuit. Despite the alluring chance to bring the Blue Devils back to the championship stage, the 20-year-old golfer simply couldn't pass up her individual goals for a team's vision.
"In college golf I don't feel like I can develop my game fully," Bauer told Golfweek. "I'm such an individual. I like to do things on my own, and with the team I couldn't always do that. The reason I'm leaving is because I feel it's what's best for my game. I'm looking forward to getting back to my own routine."
For one coach and six other golfers, however, Bauer's decision to walk away from college golf left a bittersweet taste as they tried to swallow their own tremendous loss without detracting from the celebration of her success.
Acknowledging that their former teammate did not reach her final decision lightly, the Blue Devils have been surprisingly supportive of Bauer. Still, it doesn't take a math major to figure out that Bauer, who consistently shot in the very low 70s, will be dearly missed in 2001.
"I would have absolutely loved to have Beth stay with us," Blue Devil coach Dan Brooks said. "I want people to follow their heart and what matters to them most. I want them to see what is out there. Beth looked things over as closely as she could have and as well as she could have, and she followed her heart. That process is what I'm in support of.
"Am I upset that she's not on our team? You bet. She'll be missed. We're all going to miss those low scores and we're all going to miss her dedication."
Brooks wasted no time in attempting to replace his top player from the past two seasons. The veteran coach added perhaps two of the best recruits available in order to return the national championship trophy to Durham.
Freshmen Leigh Anne Hardin and Virada Nirapathpongporn join sophomores Maria Garcia-Estrada and Kristina Engstrom, junior Candy Hannemann and senior Kalen Anderson on the five-time defending ACC champions.
Hardin enters Duke as one of the most decorated high school athletes in Blue Devil history. In four years at Martinsville High School in Indiana, Hardin racked up nine state championships, including four team championships and three individual championships in golf as well as two team championships in basketball. Brooks first heard about Hardin in her pre-teen years when she shot an astounding 62 at an Amateur Junior Golf Association tournament.
Nirapathpongporn, on the other hand, hails from Bangkok, Thailand, but played golf with Garcia-Estrada and Hannemann at the renowned Leadbetter Academy. Both players personally recommended Nirapathpongporn to Brooks.
"Just about everything I could hope for in a couple of individuals coming onto my team, I find in these two players," Brooks said of his freshmen. "They want to play the best golf in college golf. They are everything you could want in student-athletes."
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