Upcoming Event: Women's Golf at Windy City Collegiate Classic on October 5, 2026
Women's Golf
at Windy City Collegiate Classic
Photo by: Todd Drexler
Katie Li: Exactly Where She is Meant to Be
10/2/2026 7:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke's Katie Li has already established herself as an accomplished amateur golfer.
A two-time All-ACC golfer who has appeared in 31 career tournaments and played in 95 rounds, Li ranks seventh all-time in Duke history with a 72.81 career stroke average for a program widely regarded as one of the top golf programs in the history of the sport at the collegiate level.
Yet Li's story continues to trend upward.
Li leads the Blue Devils into their second event of the fall season at the Windy City Classic at the Lake Shore Country Club beginning Oct. 5. The two-day, 54-hole event comes on the heels of Duke's third-place team finish at the Folds of Honor Collegiate in September.
Li opened her senior season in impressive fashion as she earned a tie for third place individual finish at the prestigious Folds of Honor Collegiate with scores of 74, 70 and 68 to finish with a 4-under-par total of 212. Her tie for third-place finish at the Folds of Honor was her fifth top-five individual finish of her career. Li's first collegiate win came at the Florida State Match Up during her freshman season in 2023.
Now in her fourth season at Duke, her career as a Blue Devil has progressed exactly as she envisioned it would.
Li is among the nation's top golfers who will compete for player of the year honors and is one of the top golfers in the ACC on one of the nation's top-ranked teams. She is playing the best golf of her career exactly when she hoped she would be.
Competing at a school and within a program that she has always admired, Li is eager to help Duke build on its legacy of excellence through her stellar play on the golf course.
"One day, I had an epiphany," said Li. "I was like, Duke is the spot for me. When Coach [Dan] Brooks and (associate head coach) Jon Whithaus invited me on a visit here, I came. My dad and I saw this place and were like, 'There's no other place that I could go besides here.' "
"Something about the feeling that I got on campus felt very familiar," said Li of her college choice and decision to play at Duke during her entire four-year career. "Duke felt like somewhere I could be really happy. It wasn't all the trophies coach Brooks had won, or that this program is very, very, very strong. It wasn't really any of that which drew me here. It was something about it being on the East Coast, the academics being good, the overall culture that I felt from it when I got here that I really liked.
"It was a pretty easy choice."
As a three-time AJGA All-American and a six-time amateur winner, Li set a steep and successful trajectory for her golf career growing up in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
In earning American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) All-America honors, Li totaled three wins, 16 top-five, 22 top-10 and 26 top-20 AJGA finishes. She advanced to the U.S. Women's Amateur round of 16 in 2022 and competed on the Wyndham Cup East team in 2022 and the Junior Solheim Cup team in 2021. Li advanced to the semifinals of the 2021 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.
Li arrived at Duke as a freshman with high expectations on both the course and in the classroom
She was victorious in just her seventh career event when she won at Florida State. In winning during the spring of 2024, she became the first Blue Devil freshman to win a tournament since Gina Kim in 2018-19 and just the 16th freshman to win an event in Duke history. She carded rounds of 66, 66 and 72 for a 12-under total of 204 and became the first Duke freshman to register back-to-back rounds of 66. Her score of 204 was the third-lowest score in Duke history on a par-72 course.
She was an All-ACC selection, a Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar, named to the All-ACC Academic Team and was an ACC Honor Roll selection. She finished her inaugural collegiate season with a 73.19 stroke average with one victory and three top-20 finishes.
"I didn't view my freshman season as very good at the time," said Li. "I had very high expectations of myself. But now looking back, I see my freshman season was pretty good, and I should have celebrated that win (at Florida State) a bit more.
Li chose to build on her rookie-season success and that's exactly what she has done.
"I've grown in the sense that I view golf as a part of my life, not my entire life," said Li. "I viewed my freshman year as below my own expectations, and I let that decide a lot of things in my life. While I still view golf as one of my favorite things to do, and what I really want to do, I have shifted that focus. I view things a lot more objectively and a lot more positively, which I think has been really good for my game. It's put everything in my life into perspective."
In her last two seasons, Li has a 72.56 stroke average in 64 rounds with four top-five finishes in 21 events. During the spring of 2025 she competed in the Augusta National Women's Amateur (ANWA) and the U.S. Women's Open for the second time in her career.
Her Hall of Fame coach has certainly seen her overall improvement as a person and a golfer.
Brooks, who was recently presented with the 2026 Duke University Medal for Distinguished Meritorious Service, Duke's highest honor, has watched Li mature and grow throughout her career.
"Katie has always set a tremendous example for her teammates," said Brooks. "She's a worker. You never have to wonder if she'll be prepared. Her challenges have been more in the area of believing in the work you've done and not being overly shaken by mistakes. She's built a beautiful, powerful golf swing and is learning to trust it. Katie made great strides and will continue to lead by example."
As the Blue Devils' lone senior this season, Li has become the team leader she has envisioned herself wanting to be throughout her career. She began her development as Duke's only junior a year ago and now as the senior member of the Blue Devils she is the team's undisputed team's leader.
"Andie Smith was wonderful; she was a very mature teammate," said Li about Duke's 2026 team captain. "She handled everything so well and made sure everything ran smoothly. I respected her so much. I worked pretty closely with her because she was the lone senior, and I was the lone junior, and it was kind of like if she needed a second hand, I'd be there. Because I was so close to Andie, I would say she has been my biggest influence and because of that relationship, I know that I want to foster that relationship for the underclassmen on this year's team."
Not only has Li developed her skills as a leader, but the mathematics major has also continued to grow as a golfer.
"I'm a lot more confident in my own skill," said Li. "I used to think that my skill in golf was something that could easily slip away from me, or that I wasn't as good as I am. I've become much smarter through the guidance of Jon (Whithaus) and Coach Brooks when it comes to course management. I'm also a lot more confident in the choices that I make and in accepting the results that come with my play."
A major factor in Li's personal change in thinking is the independence given to the players within the Blue Devil program to improve and grow their games.
"I think how the coaches allow us to practice and play in tournaments is really important," said Li. "They allow us to be independent and grow on our own with their guidance. If they see something they potentially don't agree with, they're more than happy to discuss it. The coaches don't tell you that something is wrong, or they want to know why you're doing it, but they want to talk about your process. It's self-correction that's the best type of correction that, in the long run, helps you grow so much more.
"The coaches allow us to have our freedom, but they have enough structure that we're developing areas of our game that need developing through college."
With four members of their current team who have won at least one individual career championship, Li and her teammates couldn't be more excited for the remainder of the fall season and the entirety of the spring season, which will hopefully include another trip to the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships.
"I think the drive on this team is much stronger than any other team I've been on," said Li. "My first two teams were great, but this team has a new, a very different fire than what it had my freshman year, and so I'm really excited to see what we can do."
With Katie Li's renewed enthusiasm, things can only continue to get better for the soon-to-be Duke graduate.
#GoDuke
A two-time All-ACC golfer who has appeared in 31 career tournaments and played in 95 rounds, Li ranks seventh all-time in Duke history with a 72.81 career stroke average for a program widely regarded as one of the top golf programs in the history of the sport at the collegiate level.
Yet Li's story continues to trend upward.
Li leads the Blue Devils into their second event of the fall season at the Windy City Classic at the Lake Shore Country Club beginning Oct. 5. The two-day, 54-hole event comes on the heels of Duke's third-place team finish at the Folds of Honor Collegiate in September.
Li opened her senior season in impressive fashion as she earned a tie for third place individual finish at the prestigious Folds of Honor Collegiate with scores of 74, 70 and 68 to finish with a 4-under-par total of 212. Her tie for third-place finish at the Folds of Honor was her fifth top-five individual finish of her career. Li's first collegiate win came at the Florida State Match Up during her freshman season in 2023.
Now in her fourth season at Duke, her career as a Blue Devil has progressed exactly as she envisioned it would.
Li is among the nation's top golfers who will compete for player of the year honors and is one of the top golfers in the ACC on one of the nation's top-ranked teams. She is playing the best golf of her career exactly when she hoped she would be.
Competing at a school and within a program that she has always admired, Li is eager to help Duke build on its legacy of excellence through her stellar play on the golf course.
"One day, I had an epiphany," said Li. "I was like, Duke is the spot for me. When Coach [Dan] Brooks and (associate head coach) Jon Whithaus invited me on a visit here, I came. My dad and I saw this place and were like, 'There's no other place that I could go besides here.' "
"Something about the feeling that I got on campus felt very familiar," said Li of her college choice and decision to play at Duke during her entire four-year career. "Duke felt like somewhere I could be really happy. It wasn't all the trophies coach Brooks had won, or that this program is very, very, very strong. It wasn't really any of that which drew me here. It was something about it being on the East Coast, the academics being good, the overall culture that I felt from it when I got here that I really liked.
"It was a pretty easy choice."
As a three-time AJGA All-American and a six-time amateur winner, Li set a steep and successful trajectory for her golf career growing up in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
In earning American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) All-America honors, Li totaled three wins, 16 top-five, 22 top-10 and 26 top-20 AJGA finishes. She advanced to the U.S. Women's Amateur round of 16 in 2022 and competed on the Wyndham Cup East team in 2022 and the Junior Solheim Cup team in 2021. Li advanced to the semifinals of the 2021 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.
Li arrived at Duke as a freshman with high expectations on both the course and in the classroom
She was victorious in just her seventh career event when she won at Florida State. In winning during the spring of 2024, she became the first Blue Devil freshman to win a tournament since Gina Kim in 2018-19 and just the 16th freshman to win an event in Duke history. She carded rounds of 66, 66 and 72 for a 12-under total of 204 and became the first Duke freshman to register back-to-back rounds of 66. Her score of 204 was the third-lowest score in Duke history on a par-72 course.
She was an All-ACC selection, a Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar, named to the All-ACC Academic Team and was an ACC Honor Roll selection. She finished her inaugural collegiate season with a 73.19 stroke average with one victory and three top-20 finishes.
"I didn't view my freshman season as very good at the time," said Li. "I had very high expectations of myself. But now looking back, I see my freshman season was pretty good, and I should have celebrated that win (at Florida State) a bit more.
Li chose to build on her rookie-season success and that's exactly what she has done.
"I've grown in the sense that I view golf as a part of my life, not my entire life," said Li. "I viewed my freshman year as below my own expectations, and I let that decide a lot of things in my life. While I still view golf as one of my favorite things to do, and what I really want to do, I have shifted that focus. I view things a lot more objectively and a lot more positively, which I think has been really good for my game. It's put everything in my life into perspective."
In her last two seasons, Li has a 72.56 stroke average in 64 rounds with four top-five finishes in 21 events. During the spring of 2025 she competed in the Augusta National Women's Amateur (ANWA) and the U.S. Women's Open for the second time in her career.
Her Hall of Fame coach has certainly seen her overall improvement as a person and a golfer.
Brooks, who was recently presented with the 2026 Duke University Medal for Distinguished Meritorious Service, Duke's highest honor, has watched Li mature and grow throughout her career.
"Katie has always set a tremendous example for her teammates," said Brooks. "She's a worker. You never have to wonder if she'll be prepared. Her challenges have been more in the area of believing in the work you've done and not being overly shaken by mistakes. She's built a beautiful, powerful golf swing and is learning to trust it. Katie made great strides and will continue to lead by example."
As the Blue Devils' lone senior this season, Li has become the team leader she has envisioned herself wanting to be throughout her career. She began her development as Duke's only junior a year ago and now as the senior member of the Blue Devils she is the team's undisputed team's leader.
"Andie Smith was wonderful; she was a very mature teammate," said Li about Duke's 2026 team captain. "She handled everything so well and made sure everything ran smoothly. I respected her so much. I worked pretty closely with her because she was the lone senior, and I was the lone junior, and it was kind of like if she needed a second hand, I'd be there. Because I was so close to Andie, I would say she has been my biggest influence and because of that relationship, I know that I want to foster that relationship for the underclassmen on this year's team."
Not only has Li developed her skills as a leader, but the mathematics major has also continued to grow as a golfer.
"I'm a lot more confident in my own skill," said Li. "I used to think that my skill in golf was something that could easily slip away from me, or that I wasn't as good as I am. I've become much smarter through the guidance of Jon (Whithaus) and Coach Brooks when it comes to course management. I'm also a lot more confident in the choices that I make and in accepting the results that come with my play."
A major factor in Li's personal change in thinking is the independence given to the players within the Blue Devil program to improve and grow their games.
"I think how the coaches allow us to practice and play in tournaments is really important," said Li. "They allow us to be independent and grow on our own with their guidance. If they see something they potentially don't agree with, they're more than happy to discuss it. The coaches don't tell you that something is wrong, or they want to know why you're doing it, but they want to talk about your process. It's self-correction that's the best type of correction that, in the long run, helps you grow so much more.
"The coaches allow us to have our freedom, but they have enough structure that we're developing areas of our game that need developing through college."
With four members of their current team who have won at least one individual career championship, Li and her teammates couldn't be more excited for the remainder of the fall season and the entirety of the spring season, which will hopefully include another trip to the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships.
"I think the drive on this team is much stronger than any other team I've been on," said Li. "My first two teams were great, but this team has a new, a very different fire than what it had my freshman year, and so I'm really excited to see what we can do."
With Katie Li's renewed enthusiasm, things can only continue to get better for the soon-to-be Duke graduate.
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
Thursday, November 13
Friday, October 03
Saturday, November 02
Saturday, October 19
