Siyun “Swing” Liu has been tested on and off the golf course in the past year, and each time has risen to the occasion. So far in 2023, Liu has made two cuts in four starts on the Epson Tour, with her latest result being a T9 finish at the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic. Shortly after, she made the trek to Hawaii, hoping to qualify for the LPGA Tour’s LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei. She was successful, earning one of the two remaining spots in the field to make her first appearance on the big stage.
“I was really nervous because I’ve never played an LPGA [Tour] event before,” said Liu. “I didn’t really know where my game was at compared to the rest of the field, so I was more anxious about trying to play my own game. I played one shot at a time instead of looking too far ahead. But I was really excited.”
In Hawaii, the 23-year-old often looked at the large screens and scrolled through the leaderboard. Liu wasn’t looking to compare her ranking in the field, though. Instead, she looked in awe at her name amongst some of the best in the game.
“Every time I went by one of the big screens, I actually saw my name. I was like, ‘Oh my god, my name is on an LPGA [Tour] leaderboard; that’s so cool.’ I was really trying to fight the urge to whip out my phone and start taking pictures of the leaderboard,” laughed Liu. “It was super exciting to see my name up there.”
At the end of the tournament, her name was still on the leaderboard. She finished in a share of ninth with new confidence and a list of things to work on. Despite being a new name on the LPGA Tour field list, Liu was surrounded by familiar faces. She competed alongside fellow Epson Tour members Gigi Stoll and Mariel Galdiano and numerous Epson Tour alumnae, including Linnea Strom, Bailey Tardy, Celine Boutier, and the event’s new champion, Grace Kim.
“It showed me that I’m actually pretty good at golf,” laughed Liu. “I saw a lot of the players I played with on the Epson Tour, so it honestly didn’t feel that different. But it definitely made me feel really solid overall. It gave me a lot of confidence, but it’s also guiding me in terms of what I need to work on to further improve myself.”
After completing her rookie year on the Epson Tour in 2022, Liu had the opportunity to excel off the course, courtesy of the title sponsor. The Wake Forest alumna completed a four-month internship with Epson America, Inc. during the off-season. During the internship, Liu worked with the finance department, and while she's back to full-time golf, she continues to feel she is part of the team after leaving in February to return to the day-to-day golf grind.
“One of my proudest moments was doing a B-Stock project and by accident ended up presenting to Andrea Zoeckler, COO and CFO at Epson America, Inc.,” said Liu. “When I visited Epson Headquarters [in March], Andrea saw me standing outside her office, and she pulled me inside in the middle of a staff meeting to say hi to everyone.”
Having the opportunity to get real-time work experience is something Liu will never forget. However, balancing life as a student-athlete and taking advantage of “golf weather” put the finance major in a tough spot when looking for summer internships.
“It meant a lot. In school, I tried looking for internships, but I was so busy with tournaments,” said Liu. “With Epson, I got to have a really solid internship experience during the winter, and they were super accommodating toward my schedule.”
Moving forward, Liu has the experience to pursue her dreams on and off the golf course. No matter where life leads her, she’s ready to tackle it head-on.
“They taught me how to view problems from different perspectives, and it’s helpful if I want to find a job in the future,” said Liu. “It also helps with golf. I feel like I have a very solid backup plan in case golf doesn’t work out, which takes some pressure off my back when I’m playing. I definitely want to play great, and if possible, I want to be one of the best golfers in the world. But if golf doesn’t work, it’s not the end of the world.”
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