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Jennie Lee • Born: November 6, 1986. • Attends: Duke University. • Graduated: Edison High School in Huntington Beach. • Last movie seen: “Miracle,” about the gold-medal winning 1982 U.S. Olympic hockey team. • Favorite food to order at a restaurant: Italian, especially pasta, lasagna or chicken parmigiana. • Favorite class: Causes of Crime (a criminology class at Duke, where she is pursuing a degree in sociology). • Childhood ambition: At 4 and 5 years old, Lee wanted to be like champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. A spot in the top four on most national rankings of college players and amateur women. Check. A stellar start on a collegiate career as a member of Duke’s championship women’s golf team. Check. Experience playing at the professional level. Check. It would seem Duke sophomore Jennie Lee holds the checks needed to make a competitive run at the Kraft Nabisco Championship March 29-April 1, to which she received an invitation to play last month. There’s just one check lacking: one in the practice column. “I’m not really sure, to be honest,” Lee said when asked early last month whether she felt prepared for the event. “It’s been so long since I played — since last November. I tend to take a little time off during the winter, and it’s been so chilly here.” Here is Durham, N.C., where the graduate of Edison High School in Huntington Beach is back to her studies in sociology, her declared major. “I feel like in the next month or so having a lot of collegiate events will help me get back in the competitive mode,” Lee said. Lee showed last year how deep her competitive streak runs. She was runner-up at last season’s NCAA Championship at the Ohio State Golf Club’s Scarlet Course, where she helped Duke win its second consecutive team title. Last summer, she holed the winning putt for the U.S. team in the Curtis Cup and was a medalist in the North & South Women’s Amateur. The greatest influence on her development as a junior golfer was Tom Sargent of Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa, where Lee spent most of her time as a youngster, living just 10 minutes from the course. “He taught me how to think around the course, how to prepare myself when facing other competitors and how to manage my game,” she said. It was those halcyon summers enjoying the camaraderie of girls her age who also liked to play golf and compete in tournaments that made college golf an easy decision. “Being with friends is a big part of why I wanted to continue,” Lee said. “That and being in the outdoors, and golf is something you can do for the rest of your life.” Duke was another easy decision, for the golf team and for its location far from temperate Southern California. And for that matter, Henderson, Nev., where her parents relocated and where she lives during term breaks. “I decided to see what else was out there and see a different kind of player on the East Coast,” Lee said. “And, I thought [playing on the East Coast] would help me adjust to playing in different types of weather.” The Kraft Nabisco aside, Lee’s goals are to play well this spring in collegiate events so she can be in a position to assist her teammates. “I’m looking forward to helping Duke win another national title,” she said. “If so, the school will three-peat.” Vying for the LPGA Tour after graduation is a no-brainer. “Yeah, I would love to play on the LPGA,” Lee said. “It’s something I’ve looked forward to since I began playing junior golf.” SG |
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