On the eve of the start of Week 2 of LPGA Q-Series, former Duke teammates Jaravee Boonchant and Gina Kim planned to eat steak at their rental house. Kim thought she might bake brownies for dessert.
During the heavy fortnight that is LPGA Qualifying School, talk of food isn’t just practical, it’s a welcome distraction. After Boonchant won the Epson Tour Championship in early October to finish 12th on the money list, Kim offered to caddie in the final stage. Kim finished eighth on the money list, which secured her LPGA card for the 2023 season. The top 10 players earn cards; Boonchant finished $1,765 behind 10th place.
A total of 100 players began the two-week grind of Q-Series last week and 75 made the 72-hole cut. Four Duke players were among them, including Ana Belac, Lindy Duncan, Miranda Wang and Boonchant. They’ll tee it up again Dec. 8-11 at the Highland Oakes Golf Course in Dothan, Alabama. The scores carry over from Week 1.
Boonchant, Wang, Belac and Kim were on the 2019 Blue Devils team that won the NCAA Championship. Both Kim and Boonchant were rookies on the Epson Tour this season. Kim decided to forgo her final semester of college golf after finishing T-36 at last year’s LPGA Q-Series. She graduated with a degree in psychology this May. Boonchant drove to Durham for the ceremony.
“I’ve been telling Gina every day, I think she has more confidence in me than I have in myself,” said Boonchant, who describes herself as an indecisive golfer.
The Thai native carried a 71.99 stroke average in college, which ranks as the third-best career stroke average in Duke history.
When Boonchant came back to college at the start of 2021 during the covid-19 pandemic, Kim would stop by her room at the Duke hotel where the athletes stayed, and they’d walk down together for practice. They asked each other the same question that they ask every day this week: “What’s for dinner?”
While the pair worked independently at practice, building a routine together helped them to push each other.
Kim praised her friend’s consistent ball-striking, noting that the stability in her game perfectly suits a pressure-packed marathon like Q-Series.
“I think that’s why she’s in a good position now,” said Kim of Boonchant’s share of 11th through 72 holes. “She played smart.”
Boonchant was a freshman the when Leona Maguire was a senior at Duke. Boonchant, who’d never been part of a team before college golf, was motivated by Maguire’s work ethic. Maguire owns the lowest stroke average in NCAA history among golfers with 100 or more rounds (70.97). She broke through earlier this year to become the first Irish player to win on the LPGA.
“Hopefully one day we get to experience that,” said Boonchant.
The top 45 players and ties this week will earn LPGA cards for 2023. Those who finish in the top 20 earn Category 14 status, and those from 12-45 earn Category 15. Everyone outside the top 45 earns Epson Tour status.
Kim said being back at Q-Series in a different role is a humbling experience.
“The No. 1 thing that came to mind,” said Kim, “was why was I so stressed about this last year? When I look at the course, it seems like a pretty straightforward course.”
Now it’s just a matter of helping a more than capable Boonchant across the finish line.
