DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Sunday was a special day on the Epson Tour for two Duke women’s golf graduates as the tour concluded its 2022 campaign with the Epson Tour Championship at LPGA International.
Duke 2022 graduate Gina Kim earned her LPGA Tour card for the 2023 campaign as she finished with $82,133 earnings to place eighth on the Epson Tour money list. Kim, a product of Durham, N.C., turned in her first professional win at the Inova Mission Inn Resort & Club Championship and added seven additional top-20 results on the Epson Tour this season. She also competed in 12 LPGA events.
“It feels amazing, because I managed to get the firsthand experience of what it’s like to not have a great status and having to Monday Q into a lot of these LPGA events,” said Kim. “So, just being able to go out there and have a good foundation to start off, I think it’s a huge game changer. So, I’m really excited for that.”
Jaravee Boonchant, who hails from Bangkok, Thailand, turned in a very impressive Epson Tour record 23-under-par, 265, to win the Epson Tour Championship on Sunday. She shot 67, 64, 68 and 66 over the four days without committing a bogey. Boonchant, a 2021 Duke graduate, rolled in a birdie on her final hole to finish one shot ahead of Riley Rennell (266) and claim her first win on the Epson Tour.
“I’m very happy,” said Boonchant. “It’s really unbelievable. I still can’t believe that I actually won the tournament just now. I don’t know, I’m just very happy and words just can’t describe how I feel right now.”
With the victory, Boonchant earned $37,500 and moved her season earnings on the Epson Tour to $76,543, which just missed earning her LPGA Tour card along with Kim, her former Duke teammate. Boonchant turned in one victory, three other top-10 finishes and made 13-of-16 cuts on the tour this season.
“I’m just very grateful that I was able to pull out a win this week,” said Boonchant. “Coming into this tournament, I was flying from Korea and my ranking was 36. It was just at the cut line, so I was just hoping that I made a good result and maybe get exempt from Stage II. To be able to win on the last event of Epson Tour, that just makes me very happy and proud that all the hard work has paid off. I’m proud of myself that I trusted the process and didn’t stress myself out too much.”
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