Aree Song

Aree Song (Korean: 송아리, Thai: อารี วงศ์ลือเกียรติ; rtgs: Ari Wonglue-kiat) (born Aree Wongluekiet 1 May 1986) is a Korean professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. Her father is South Korean and her mother is Thai. She was born in Bangkok, Thailand. She is a South Korean citizen, and has represented Thailand in junior team competition, but she has spent much of her life in the United States.

Early life and amateur career

Song was a child prodigy, setting a number of "youngest" age records. In 1999 she won the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at thirteen years old, becoming the youngest player to win any United States Golf Association championship. In 2000 she tied for 10th place in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, at the age of thirteen. The same year, a few months after her fourteenth birthday, she became the youngest ever semi-finalist at the U.S. Women's Amateur. In 2001 she was the recipient of the Nancy Lopez Award, which is presented to the best female amateur golfer of the year. The next year she placed first individually at the World Amateur Team Championships and helped Thailand to a second-place finish. She won a number of adult amateur events in 2002 and 2003 and in the latter year she placed fifth at the U.S. Women's Open.