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Golfer and a Student

Putting the effort in
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Tasaso, 20, at Thai LPGA tournament in Thailand

By Xinyi 'Amy' He

Campus Chronicle

Tonrak Tasaso, a leading player for HPU women's golf team, was named the Big South Golfer of the Week at the Big South Conference last week (nov 1).

Tasaso tied for fourth at the Terrier Intercollegiate and lead the High Point Panthers to the team title for the second-straight year. Tasaso was the top finisher among the 38 Big South golfers in the event.

“Golf is a love hate sport because it will disappoint you a lot of the times,” said Tasaso in a recent interview, “You are not always going to play well.”

Tasaso is from Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. She is now a junior in HPU. Tasaso is majoring in documentary media with a minor in sociology.

“Golf is also very time consuming, you have to practice all the time. Golf really challenges me which is why I think I fell in love with it.”

Tasaso started playing golf when she was eight. Her brother started playing golf and used it to get into a college in Thailand. Tasaso decided to follow the footsteps of her brother but instead of a college in Thailand, she wanted to come to the United States. Tasaso’s uncle is the first person to buy golf clubs for her. Her dad was the one that takes her to golf tournaments and practices. Her mom was there for her academically.

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"Tonrak has been playing golf for 13 years, and our family have been through every process since she started. She started playing because she has been watching her brother play since she was very young. We are very proud and happy for her when she got accepted at HPU on a gold scholarship. She has been working very hard. We have been planning this whole college and golf process since she was in eighth grade. It is always exciting when we see her play at tournaments in the states."

Tasaso almost give up on golf once upon a time. In her high school years, she played terrible in tournaments and she wasn’t happy playing. At that time, Tasaso put a lot of pressure on herself and golf at the time because she was trying to get a scholarship from a university in the United States.

Ever since she started playing for HPU, Tasaso loves to nap while on the road. Her teammates began start taking pictures of Tasaso napping. Eventually, Tasaso began covering her face with blankets that have animal prints or cartoon characters on it. Now, Tasaso’s teammates started taking pictures of her sleeping under the blankets.

“Tasaso has been a really consistent contributor to the team since the moment she step foot onto campus. She went all season without shooting over 80 which is one of her and our team’s main goal last year. To go that long without shooting over 80 is a really high achievement.” said coach Alexis Bennett.

Tasaso is someone who has very high expectations and goals set for herself and is not afraid to put in the work to achieve them. She's a great teammate on and off the golf course who is constantly pushing others to be their best. Because of her constant efforts to improve day in day out, this season has been one of her best.

At a Glance

Hometown:

Major:

Minor:

Languages:

Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
Documentary Media
Sociology
Thai & English

She broke her personal record for both low round and low 54-hole score, led the women's golf team to victory and has had a very consistent play year round. Tasaso would be a great addition to any team.

In the future, Tasaso wants to become a graduate assistant in any university that is offering her scholarship. Tasaso is also debating whether or not to go pro.

For more about Tasaso's work, visit her website

tonraktasaso.wixsite.com/tonraktas

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