Upcoming Event: Women's Golf versus Sea Best Intercollegiate on January 26, 2026
Women's Golf
vs Sea Best Intercollegiate
Photo by: Tim Cowie
Boonchant Spends Fall Semester Home in Thailand
9/3/2020 7:22:00 AM | Women's Golf
By Daniela Schneider, Duke Sports Information Student Assistant
BANGKOK, Thailand -- On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Jaravee Boonchant logs onto Zoom at 4 a.m., well before the sun rises, for her Japanese culture class. And the night before, she is in class from 9 p.m., to midnight.
A native of Bangkok, Thailand, Boonchant decided to not return to Duke's campus for the start of her senior year because of coronavirus concerns. She is attending classes remotely this semester, despite the time difference.
Boonchant made the decision over the summer after discussing her options with her coaches and parents. Thailand has had a total of 3,411 coronavirus cases since March 16, and have, for the most part, kept their daily case count in the single digits since May. She had to take into consideration the potential risks of leaving Bangkok and coming to Durham during the pandemic.
"I feel like they prepared us very well to return to campus, but living half a world away from Duke makes it hard to go back to Durham," said Boonchant. "I would need to take three different flights to get to Duke, and that was the risky part. I was lucky that Coach Brooks understood and respected my decision."
"I was in full support of whatever decision all the team members would make, including Jaravee," said Duke head coach Dan Brooks. "Although Duke and Duke Athletics specifically, have done an excellent job of making things safe, the United States' poor handling of COVID-19 looked terrible to a young woman in Thailand. I would have stayed, just like Jaravee did, no question."
In three seasons, Boonchant has collected three All-America honors, helped lead the Blue Devils to the NCAA Championship in 2019, and holds a 71.95 career stroke average. She holds the third-best stroke average in Duke history and is working to keep her golf game in tip-top shape while in Thailand. Boonchant practices in the morning most days, but on days where she has early class she fits in a round in the evening. She might look to play some tournaments in October, but for right now she is focused on working on her swing.
Boonchant has kept close contact with coaches Dan Brooks and Jon Whithaus about her plan and her swing and they still include her in team meetings.
She has also stayed in touch with teammates through various forms of social media.
"As much as our team is sad that Jaravee could not be here with us this semester, we're working hard as a team to prepare for the spring so that we can all hopefully see each other and play in tournaments again," said teammate Gina Kim. "We all still keep in contact with her and I personally have been calling Jaravee often to see how she's doing so we still feel her presence around here at Duke"
And although she misses Duke's campus and being around teammates, it has been an opportunity to stay with family. Boonchant left Thailand for the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., when she was in high school, and hasn't been home for very long since.
There has been no word yet on postponing or cancelling this year's golf season. And until that decision is made, Boonchant will remain in Thailand with her parents.
"If we were to have a season, I'm for sure going to come back," said Boonchant. "But if not, we'll see what the situation looks like."
#GoDuke
Â
BANGKOK, Thailand -- On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Jaravee Boonchant logs onto Zoom at 4 a.m., well before the sun rises, for her Japanese culture class. And the night before, she is in class from 9 p.m., to midnight.
A native of Bangkok, Thailand, Boonchant decided to not return to Duke's campus for the start of her senior year because of coronavirus concerns. She is attending classes remotely this semester, despite the time difference.
Boonchant made the decision over the summer after discussing her options with her coaches and parents. Thailand has had a total of 3,411 coronavirus cases since March 16, and have, for the most part, kept their daily case count in the single digits since May. She had to take into consideration the potential risks of leaving Bangkok and coming to Durham during the pandemic.
"I feel like they prepared us very well to return to campus, but living half a world away from Duke makes it hard to go back to Durham," said Boonchant. "I would need to take three different flights to get to Duke, and that was the risky part. I was lucky that Coach Brooks understood and respected my decision."
"I was in full support of whatever decision all the team members would make, including Jaravee," said Duke head coach Dan Brooks. "Although Duke and Duke Athletics specifically, have done an excellent job of making things safe, the United States' poor handling of COVID-19 looked terrible to a young woman in Thailand. I would have stayed, just like Jaravee did, no question."
In three seasons, Boonchant has collected three All-America honors, helped lead the Blue Devils to the NCAA Championship in 2019, and holds a 71.95 career stroke average. She holds the third-best stroke average in Duke history and is working to keep her golf game in tip-top shape while in Thailand. Boonchant practices in the morning most days, but on days where she has early class she fits in a round in the evening. She might look to play some tournaments in October, but for right now she is focused on working on her swing.
Boonchant has kept close contact with coaches Dan Brooks and Jon Whithaus about her plan and her swing and they still include her in team meetings.
She has also stayed in touch with teammates through various forms of social media.
"As much as our team is sad that Jaravee could not be here with us this semester, we're working hard as a team to prepare for the spring so that we can all hopefully see each other and play in tournaments again," said teammate Gina Kim. "We all still keep in contact with her and I personally have been calling Jaravee often to see how she's doing so we still feel her presence around here at Duke"
And although she misses Duke's campus and being around teammates, it has been an opportunity to stay with family. Boonchant left Thailand for the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., when she was in high school, and hasn't been home for very long since.
There has been no word yet on postponing or cancelling this year's golf season. And until that decision is made, Boonchant will remain in Thailand with her parents.
"If we were to have a season, I'm for sure going to come back," said Boonchant. "But if not, we'll see what the situation looks like."
#GoDuke
Â
Players Mentioned
PLAYER
/ Women's Golf
PLAYER
/ Women's GolfAndie Smith, Duke | Interview | CGN
Thursday, November 13
Karcher-Ingram Golf Center Facility Tour
Friday, October 03
Anna Grzebien Hall of Fame Feature
Saturday, November 02
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
