Fellow players recognize her service at junior clinics, her host families and her positive presence on tour, and Epson donates $5,000 to the winner

Alexis Phadungmartvorakul has made a habit of leaving each stop on the Epson Tour better than she found it. At the Tour Championship, her fellow players recognized her with the Epson Community Achievement Award, an honor she also won two years ago.

The award celebrates service off the course, and Phadungmartvorakul has built her reputation on it: volunteering at junior clinics, opening her schedule to host families and bringing a positive, thoughtful attitude to every tournament week. Epson also donates $5,000 to the award winner.

“I’m very grateful. I didn’t expect it at all,” she said.

Asked what it means to be recognized a second time, she turned the spotlight away from herself. “I don’t think it’s about me,” she said. “I just truly enjoy going to each unique tournament and trying to make the most out of them, as well as trying to grow the game of golf.”

If anything, the first award fueled her. “It’s made me want to do more and help more in any way that I can,” she said.

Big Crowds and Big Hats at Junior Clinics

Junior clinics are the heart of her service work, and she knows exactly which ones she likes best. “It’s usually the ones with the most kids that are the most fun,” she said.

Scottsdale stands out as a highlight, where she “was given the greatest honor of wearing the big hat.” The clinic featured different stations, and the players did more than hand out swing tips. They showed the kids how players mark their golf balls and answered questions.

Pendleton and El Dorado are also among her favorites, and the Q&A sessions are what make them memorable. “In Pendleton, all the kids are asking all the questions,” she said. “It took one or two to start asking questions for other kids to ask questions, but then the parents joined in too. It was fun.”

Host Housing and Lasting Friendships

Now in her fourth year on tour, Phadungmartvorakul has been fortunate to find host housing at most of the stops she visits, and some she has returned to four years in a row.

Those visits have turned into real relationships. Her hosts in Pendleton have kids around her age, and this year the family was on “baby watch” all week. The new arrival came a couple of days after she left. After four visits, she has watched that family grow.

A Golf Ball Kept in a Special Spot

One of the moments that stays with her comes from the kids she has met at clinics. She marks her golf balls with a heart, and she recently switched to a ball patterned all over that looks like a soccer ball. Kids have noticed, and they remember her.

“I’ll have them come up to me a year later or two after having met them at the junior clinic,” she said. “They tell me that they still have my golf ball.” Some keep it in a special spot in their room. “That’s pretty cool,” she said.

Another Way to Win

For Phadungmartvorakul, giving back is part of what it means to be a professional golfer. “There are different ways to leave an impact, especially through the game of golf,” she said. “Winning is cool and great, and I arrive at every single tournament trying to do that, but at the end of the week there’s only one winner of the trophy. That doesn’t have to mean that only one person truly wins that week. I think another way to win is to be able to leave an impact on people.”

Her approach to balancing service with competing at a high level is to make it a priority. “If that is at the forefront of my mind, that is something I’m looking forward to each week, then I’ll make time to practice or to do other things around it,” she said. Volunteering has also been a good way to meet new people, especially rookies who sign up to help, and she has made good friends through it.

Her message to other players is simple. “If you can make time to do it once or twice a year, it’d be great, and who knows, you might find a passion for it,” she said. “If you like kids, if you like teaching, or building relationships, you just never know what you’re going to find for yourself, introspectively, after those experiences.”

Looking Ahead

Phadungmartvorakul plans to keep giving back wherever her career leads. “I hope to still be able to be involved in any way I can with each tournament, regardless of what level I’m playing,” she said.

That includes more than clinics. She likes to spend time in each tournament city, whether that means a sports game, the zoo or another nearby attraction. “Golf consumes all of us, all of our time and mental capacity,” she said. Getting out and taking advantage of traveling across the country, she added, “gives you a bit of a break from golf but also puts life into perspective.”

Alexis Phadungmartvorakul Earns Second Epson Community Achievement Award for Giving Back

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