The Good Word: What was your reaction to getting the call about your induction into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame?
Chan Song: “I was in Thailand. My first thought, I was a bit shocked as I did not think I could join such an elite list of past inductees like Matt Kuchar and Stewart Cink. After the initial shock, I thought about my father who passed away five years ago and how proud he must have been.
“I honestly didn’t expect to get it. I’ve been a little bit out of the loop with the States. I talk to Coach (Bruce) Heppler from time to time and — actually, as I put two and two together — he asked me about six months ago, ‘What’s the best way to reach you?’ I said email then (Associate Director Communications and Public Relations) Mike (Stamus) sent me an email and said, ‘Give me a call when you get a chance.’ He kind of broke the news to me and I was a little bit stunned, but in a good way. I’m very honored.”
TGW: At what age did you start playing golf?
Song: “I started playing when I was like 10. I have two sisters (Aree and Naree). We always used to play. We were raised playing golf. We were quite good junior players. I mean under-18, they were like 1 and 2 in the women’s division, I was No. 2 under-18 in the U.S. so we were a golfing family. They went on to play the LPGA Tour, and I went to college, Georgia Tech.”
TGW: Who wins in a family golfing outing?
Song: My sister, Aree, for sure. Aree is the one who played on the LPGA for like 10 years. She made over a million dollars in career earnings. Of course, if we played the same tees, that’s a different story. (laughs)
TGW: When did you come over to the U.S. from Thailand?
Song: “In 1996. I was like 12. My dad wanted to send me to a boarding school in the U.S. and wanted me to get the experience of being by myself. I was kind of a rowdy little kid back then, so he wanted to curb my enthusiasm a little bit. But he also wanted me to learn about golf and get better at it, which I did. I have to thank my dad for that.”
TGW: What led you to choosing Georgia Tech?
Song: “I chose it because of my good friend and teammate, Michael Barbosa. I met Michael once I moved to the Sarasota, Fla., to attend boarding school, The David Ledbetter Golf Academy. We were good friends. We played junior golf together. I was recruited by Texas, University of Florida, Oklahoma State…basically all the Division I golf power houses, but my father basically said, ‘Son, you are going wherever Barbosa is going!’”
TGW: When did you know you’d be good at golf?
Song: “I did not really know (laughs). Even to this day, I still think I’m decent but not great. In all seriousness, once I received a full scholarship to come play golf for Tech, that was when I said to myself, ‘I guess I’m not so bad after all.’”
There’d be no argument from the rest of the ACC and NCAA.
In 2002, Song was named honorable mention All-America and ACC Rookie of the Year, the third Yellow Jacket to earn the honor, following Matt Kuchar (1997) and Bryce Molder (1998). He earned the honor by shooting 72.76, with three top-10 finishes. He also was named to his first of four straight ACC Academic Honor Rolls (interestingly, he and Barbosa would both go 4-for-4). The Jackets won the ACC and finished second at the NCAA Championship.
The following year, Chan won his first of back-to-back Charles Yates Cups, the team award for outstanding academic achievement. On the course, he stepped up big in the NCAA East Regional, helping Tech to a second-place finish, shooting a team-best five-under 211.
As a junior, he set a new career-low, shooting 72.64, with a top-10 finish, and earned All-America and All-ACC honors, one of three Jackets to go all-conference. In the NCAAs he finished at +3, second on the team to Nick Thompson, as Tech tied for fifth overall.
He saved his best for last, shooting a career-low 71.50, with six top-10s. He led Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship, shooting a 2-under 214, then shot 207 (-6), tying Castro for team’s low score in the NCAA East Region as the Jackets got back to the NCAA Finals, finishing national runner-up. He’d earn the team’s Watts Gunn Trophy for most improved player. For his career, Song chalked up 11 top-10 finishes.
TGW: What was your greatest memory of Georgia Tech Golf?
Song: “I think it was my freshman year, the ACC Championships. I was ACC Rookie of the Year. I remember walking down 18, it was a par-5, knowing that we had already won, and my teammates were there, the boosters were there, all my family and friends were there. It’s just a good feeling winning your conference. That was a good memory. We played in four NCAA Championships. Finishing second was really good, but it (stinks) that we didn’t win. You play a sport, ANY sport, you play to win. Looking back on it, though it stings that we weren’t able to get one I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
