|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Doubting Jenny Chuasiriporn has gone from sure thing to unsure
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Does anyone know what happened to Jenny Chuasiriporn? Just over two years ago, Chuasiriporn shocked the world on the 72nd hole of the 1998 U.S. Women's Open. Her 40-foot putt to force a playoff with Se Ri Pak made Chuasiriporn an instant trivia question. No one who saw it will ever forget the image of her with her hands on her face and her mouth hanging open in an expression of utter shock. But that dramatic picture may wind up being the only memory we have of her.
Back when Chuasiriporn, then an amateur, took Pak 21 extra holes at Blackwolf Run before falling in the Open, most everyone believed it was the first chapter of a long and storied career. Now it looks as though her career could be nothing more than just a couple of paragraphs in a three-ring spiral. After the Open, Chuasiriporn returned to Duke for her senior season and passed up the multi-million dollar endorsements that would have inevitably come her way if she decided to turn pro. Instead, she padded her stellar amateur résumé by playing on the victorious U.S. Curtis Cup team, and by finishing as the runner-up to Grace Park at the U.S. Women's Amateur. Chuasiriporn was also a runner-up at the North and South Women's Amateur and champion of the Harder Hall Invitational. In 1999, she helped the Blue Devils win the NCAA Championship. But then last year, after graduation, she decided to make the jump into the pro ranks. Instead of doing flip turns with ease, she ended up looking like she had never swum before. Maybe it was the pressure of living up to the expectations, or lack of talent or just plain burnout, but whatever the reason, Chuasiriporn sank faster than a mob hit in the East River. Because of past accolades, she received several sponsor's exemptions into LPGA events. But all of a sudden the magic was gone. She missed the cut in all four events and didn't fair much better on the Futures Tour. Her game had gone full-circle. "It was really a rough year last year," said Chuasiriporn earlier this year. "Everyone goes through an adjustment time, and for me, after graduation and after winning the national championship with my team, it was time for a break, but I couldn't take it. I just had to keep playing. It kept getting worse for me because I needed some time off to work on some mechanics and solidify my swing again. "A lot of fear and anxiety just built up in my swing, and I'm still trying to get rid of it. But it just sticks around." Despite the mechanical problems, she went to the 1999 LPGA Qualifying School -- but didn't even make it to the finals. In just a year, she went from a sure thing to being unsure. Despite the downfall, Chuasiriporn was determined to make the most of her experiences. "I think that was good for me," said Chuasiriporn of not playing well and not earning her LPGA card. "I don't see it as a disappointment at all. It was a good experience that I got behind me. The way I look at it, I have a full season of events I'm able to play over in Europe, and I played in Asia over the winter. And I have the Futures Tour here, so I can stay competitive." So Chuasiriporn traveled the globe in search of her game but only came back with some souvenirs from Italy and Japan. Despite her lack of success, she hasn't given up the dream of playing on the LPGA. And even though an 80 in the third round last week destined her to another year abroad, Chuasiriporn is determined to add to her lore. "I wasn't ready for the LPGA," she said. "Not everyone is ready after college. I have a lot of friends who did do it that way, and it's very ideal that way, but looking back everything has worked out perfectly because I've been able to travel the world and play courses that are so different, and just get a good experience before I get on the LPGA. It's not really a question of 'if,' but 'when.'" While "when" may be some time away -- at least another year -- the biggest "if" might be: What if Chuasiriporn had won the U.S. Open? What if Pak's tee shot on the 18th hole of that Monday playoff did stay short of the lake and she didn't make that miraculous par with no shoes on? Would Chuasiriporn had turned pro? Would she had won more? Would she have been able to break par? No one will ever know. She, too, isn't sure but thinks her golfing future holds more promise than the way things have played out so far. "Yeah, my life would've been completely different," says Chuasiriporn. The only likely difference would have been that instead of struggling on a mini-tour, she would be a struggling LPGA player. Hopefully soon Chuasiriporn will find the swing that made her perhaps the most improbable story in U.S. Open history. But if she doesn't, at least she has that one moment. And that's more than most other players -- pro or amateur -- have had.
Tom Hanson, a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated's Golf Plus section, is a longtime caddie on the LPGA Tour. Click here to send him a question or comment.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
