BILLINGS — Some people love golf so much they'll travel far and wide to play it. That includes Orraya Tipasathien – nicknamed Jan in her home country of Thailand — who literally packed up and journeyed halfway around the world to do it.
The distance from her hometown of Bangkok to Billings is roughly 8,000 miles. And, of course, there's no direct flight.
Remarkably, Jan chose to golf at Montana state Billings over a number of other universities because she wanted to experience all the trees and mountains.
"And I wanted to see snow, too," Jan said with a smile.
Watch Jan's golf approach and hear why she chose a move to Montana:
It doesn't snow in Bangkok, located just above the equator. And with Montana snow comes snowboarding, right? Well, maybe not for Jan.
"I have tried it once, but I don't think it's my thing at all," Jan admitted.
Her thing is clearly golf. Last week, Jan became the winningest women's golfer in MSUB history when she took the Homestake Invite in Spearfish, S.D. Barely underway in her junior year, Jan now owns six victories.
"It's pretty spectacular. Nobody in her family plays; her sister didn't play, her parents don't play. She's almost set every record we've got at this point after just two years," said MSUB head coach Adam Buie.
She tried swimming, tennis and ice skating but the more she golfed, the more she was inspired
“I was like 10 years old, like a little kid just having fun playing golf,” she recalled.
Jan's parents haven't visited, but with a time difference 13 hours ahead in Bangkok, they’re thankful for the internet.
"It's during the day here and it's night over there. So, my mom can't sleep. She's just checking live scoring and everything," Jan with another smile.
She says the favorite club in her bag right now is a wedge.
"I think it's easy. I make a lot of birdies with (my) pitching wedge so, I like it," Jan said.
"I think she's got tremendous power. She hits the ball as far as I do; same club on par 3s," Buie said.
For as well as Jan drives the ball, she's also passed her Montana driver's license test. Now, she tools around in her own car, still adjusting to that pesky steering wheel placement.
"I think it's a little bit harder than Thailand. In Bangkok, we drive the right side (of the car); here we drive the left side," she said, comforted in knowing she’s not the only teammate adjusting.
"Yeah, she was the first one to come from Thailand,” Buie said. “Since then, we've added four more. So, we have three guys and two women now.”
Jan's goal is to play pro golf, but her priority is earning a college degree. And hopefully introducing her parents to Montana's mountains, trees and maybe even a little Beartooth Pass snow.
"I think they're going to come when I graduate," she said with hope.
And by then, who knows how many Yellowjacket golf records she'll hold?
“If she stays here four years, I mean, she’s going to set every record we’ve got,” Buie said.
