LPGA’s Tiffany Joh brings the quarantine humor we all need right now

LPGA player Tiffany Joh is trying to keep things normal during quarantine with music, workouts, surfing and a wild sense of humor.

The “Stuck at Home With” series profiles players, caddies and staff in the women’s game who are making the most of an unprecedented break in tour life due to the coronavirus pandemic. New stories will be posted every Tuesday and Thursday.

#TreatJohself

Anyone who follows Tiffany Joh on Twitter is familiar with the hashtag. Have a doughnut. Catch a wave. Wear a dinosaur onesie. Make music videos. Make fun of yourself.

#TreatJohself

If there’s anyone we needed to hear from in this wild and scary time, it’s Joh, an LPGA player who spends a good portion of her life making other people laugh.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Joh started a music video battle with former tour player Jeehae Lee. They call it #Quarantunes. Sometimes they pair up together for a virtual duet. It all started when Lee got a new keyboard.

“Jeehae is actually a really good singer and has incredible range,” said Joh, “and I kind of, like, will manipulate a song to make sure it fits in my range. She was pitching me all these songs with Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus and I was like there’s no way I could hit all those notes. So we decided I would sing Bradley Cooper’s part.”

They settled on “Shallow” from “A Star is Born” and Lee got right to work, quickly sending over her part of the recording. Joh said she didn’t get back to her for about 10 days.

“I was waist-deep in watching ‘All-American’ on Netflix,” she explained. “I hadn’t gotten out of bed in four days, hadn’t taken a shower, was in my sweatpants.”

In fact, Joh said she hadn’t played her guitar in a year and a half when #Quarantunes started. She first picked up the hobby in college by learning a handful of chords and mostly relying on her background in music. Joh played the piano growing up as well as the saxophone and flute in the marching band.

“I was super cool in middle school,” she joked.

At the start of the coronavirus lockdown, Joh thought she’d come out of the break in tremendous shape, taking the time to meditate, journal and vision board each day.

“When I found myself grabbing the vacuum cleaner to vacuum the Pringle crumbs out of my bed and from my hoodie,” she said, “I thought, this is a new low point for me.”

Joh bought a Peloton bike in anticipation that it might be some time before California gyms open. She did a group ride with some buddies on the LPGA and then shifted into making a “carb cycle” video where she eats a full meal while peddling barefoot.

She’s back surfing now where the beaches are open. She went out at 3 a.m. one morning to see the blue neon waves crash during a bioluminescence phenomenon.

“My first paddle out I got a weird skin rash,” she said.

But hey, it looked really cool.

Golf courses are back open in San Diego too. Joh goes out about an hour before sunset and plays a five-hole loop at Vista Valley Country Club.

“A lot of the members live along the golf course,” she said, “and their new happy hour entertainment is to watch me dodge the sprinkler system.”

Joh said the extended break didn’t hit her as hard it might other pros who aren’t used to getting away from golf. Every offseason she goes on a month-long surfing trip.

“Staying at home is not hard,” she said, “and ordering your groceries on Amazon Fresh and going through all these Netflix shows. I don’t even like baking, and I’ve watched 10 seasons of ‘The Great British Bake Off.’”

Moments later, as Joh was talking about how she’d finally gotten around to learning how to use an air fryer, she stopped mid-sentence and exclaimed, “Oh my God, that reminds me! I have to check on my cornbread!”

Joh reported back that she thought it looked OK. Maybe a little well done.

Slap a little butter on there and #TreatJohself.

Click here to read more from the “Stuck at Home With” series.

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