In individual sports that are made into team sports, it's sometimes hard to tell what a player brings to her team beyond a score.
That, however, is certainly not the case with Jennie Lee.
Whether it's with her abundant energy, wide smile or almost stubborn positivity, the junior provides something very apparent to the three-time defending champions.
"She keeps the attitude very positive on this team," head coach Dan Brooks said.
"She's a bright light on this team, a very bright light."
Lee will continue to lead the top-ranked Blue Devils as they go up against a stacked field at the Stanford Women's Intercollegiate this weekend in Palo Alto, Calif.
Her influence is more necessary this year with the graduation of Anna Grzebien, who was a key leader on Duke's three title teams. And although Lee said she can't really believe that she is already an upperclassman, Brooks said the junior does more leading than she knows.
While some young golfers fall into the trap of practicing only with their driver or putter, Brooks said Lee spends time each practice on every type of shot-something not lost on the team's four underclassmen.
"Jennie leads by example," Brooks said. "She will spend the time on each part of her game. She doesn't have a favorite part that she goes to and neglects the other parts... and that's one of the absolute best examples that Jennie Lee sets."
But for all her on- and off-course impact on the most successful team in the nation, individual victory has been elusive for Lee. A personal triumph seemed inevitable after Lee came within two strokes of winning the NCAA individual championship as a freshman. Despite two third-place finishes last year, however, Lee was unable to break through for a win.
"It's going to take time and more practice, but I don't feel like I'm not good because I haven't won," Lee said.
The fact that she hasn't won does enter her mind at times, Lee said, but her coach maintains the junior doesn't need to change her game to capture her first victory-it's just a matter of time.
"She's already playing at a level that can win at any given time," Brooks said. "You've just got to have things line up just right that day, that tournament. I don't think she has to move to some different level.... That's just what makes wins so special is that they don't come all the time."
Lee tasted that individual success when she competed with the professionals this summer at the U.S. Women's Open in Southern Pines, N.C. Lee tied for the low amateur score, but the real highlight may have come on the Thursday of the tournament. Lee was 2-under par after six holes in her first round, and she got the rare experience of seeing her name on the leaderboard at a major championship.
"I saw my name up there and I was like, 'Wow, is that really me?'" Lee said. "It was really exciting. I wish I had taken a picture of it."
Lee's summer success, though, did not immediately carry over to the fall. Simulating professional life, members of Duke's team qualify among themselves for a spot on the first tournament roster of the year. Lee struggled in the qualifying and subsequently didn't play in the Blue Devils' opening event, where they finished fourth.
"I just stayed really positive," Lee said. "I didn't want to feel like, 'Oh, what's happening to me?' So I just got right back on track after another week or so, and I was on the road again."
Now that Lee is back to playing to her game, she is focused on continuing to set an example for her younger teammates-and on bringing home the first trophy of her own.
"I'd love to win an individual title," she said. "That is definitely one of my goals."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.