When you hear Patty Tavatanakit speak during interviews, you wouldn’t think she’s a non-native speaker. Her language is as fluent as that of an American native, and she is confident on the mic. It might be the five years she has spent on the LPGA Tour or her time living in the United States, but she can certainly deceive someone into believing she is from the United States. But that is not the case.

Tavatanakit is a native of Thailand. Born on October 11, 1999, she was raised by her parents in Bangkok. It wasn’t until 2017 that she actually moved to the United States. That’s when she joined the University of California, Los Angeles. Having been in the United States since her collegiate golf days, Tavatanakit had a lot of time to become fluent in the language and the accent.

Patty instantly loved golf. Her father entered her in a junior event near their home in Thailand when she was nine years old. She won. Then, at age 10, her family took her to San Diego for the Junior World Championship.

“I was the happiest girl on the course,” she said. “I celebrated every shot, even when I hit it into the bunker, because I hadn’t hit it in the bunker all day. I was thrilled to get to hit a bunker shot. I was happy about everything.”

She has also already won two titles in her young LPGA Tour career. In her rookie season on the Tour, Tavatanakit picked up a major win in the 2021 ANA Inspiration. That was not only her first and only major so far, but also the first and only title she won on American soil. Three years later, the 26-year-old won the 2024 Honda LPGA Thailand on home soil.

Tavatanakit has also represented her country in the Olympics. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she finished tied at 23rd for Thailand. A couple of years ago, in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 26-year-old ended tied for 29th place.

Let’s take a deeper dive into her background in her home country and her time at UCLA to learn about her roots.

Patty Tavatanakit’s years before she turned pro

Born just before Y2K, Patty Tavatanakit spent most of her youth in Bangkok, Thailand. She completed her high school at the Keerapat International School. That’s when she also started playing golf, even though her school didn’t have a golf team.

At 14, Tavatanakit got the first taste of glory when she won the 2014 Callaway Junior World Golf Championship. A year later, she also won the Junior Golf Association Rolex Tournament of Champions and the Ping Invitational. That helped her claim the 2015-16 Thailand Amateur Ladies Golf Association Player of the Year.

After moving to the United States, the young golfer won seven collegiate events in 2016 and 2017, representing the UCLA Bruins. The outstanding performances and consistency helped her capture the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) and Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year awards. Soon after, Tavatanakit started getting opportunities to play on the LPGA Tour and majors. Finally, by 2021, she had become a full-time member of the Tour.