Work Ethic and Dedication Propels Yurika Tanida

By Kyle Hatty
For MSUSpartans.com

Michigan State senior golfer Yurika Tanida is far from her home country of Japan, but yet has found a way to make herself quite comfortable in East Lansing. She had an incredible 2019-20 season, both on and off the golf course.

She led the Spartans with 65 total birdies and 3.6 birdies per round. She was selected to the All-Big Ten First Team, and also to the Academic All-Big Ten team.

Tanida's junior year was almost a stroke and a half lower than her average last year and placed top three on the team. She had the best finish of her career back in February 2020, when she tied for second place at 7-under-par 209 at the UCF Challenge.

Tanida's achievements are impressive, but the story behind her journey to Michigan State is even better.

Yurika was raised in Kanagawa, Japan and began playing golf to spend time with her parents. They enjoyed golfing and she wanted them to play together as a family hobby. She didn't start playing golf until she was 13 and began playing at an academy.

Some of the other girls she played with started when they were about 3, meaning she came in with a lot less experience. Over time, she showed promise, playing golf at a girls school. Once she turned 16, she moved to an academy in Florida to play golf.

And she did not speak a word of English.

"It was really hard to adjust to this culture and the language," Tanida said. "When I was in the golf academy there were no Japanese people, so I needed to speak English. I just talked with everyone and they helped teach me how to speak English so that helped a lot."

Tanida first encountered Michigan State while she was in Florida, when the Spartans began recruiting her.

"Coach came to watch me when I was in Florida," Tanida said. "I visited here [Michigan State] and I just liked the coaches and teammates."

MSU Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll reflected on her first time meeting Tanida.

"I heard about her through a friend," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "She was interested in talking to us, we were down in Florida and one of her teachers from her academy brought her up to Sarasota and that's where we met. Caroline, my assistant and I decided we would each walk with her for nine holes, it was interesting because the language was very difficult."

Tanida went from not knowing English to making Academic All-Big Ten as a junior in college majoring in Psychology. Tanida is more proud of her achievements in the classroom than her achievements on the golf course.

"I believe that my studies are most important for me," Tanida said. "Coaches expectations are high, if I can't make an effort to study then I can't play golf either."

Her coach also saw the dedication to her golf and school.

"It was obvious that she had an incredible work ethic," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "Just what she did, coming to the U.S. not speaking our language, to me was a phenomenal story in itself and I knew she had to be a special young woman in order to do that."

Tanida has adjusted well to the culture change and likes the differences in America compared to what she experienced back in Japan.

"The biggest difference between Japan and America, of course, language, but personality," Tanida said. "Japanese people are usually quiet and don't show emotions or share opinions, we didn't have any discussion classes in Japan. But in America, people have their own opinions and show emotion and communicate with each other more and be more open-minded. That was kind of fun to see."

Tanida stayed in the U.S. last summer, due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Japan and the challenges in getting home. Dealing with a global pandemic was challenging, especially when going home was not an option.

"I didn't go back home this summer, I just stayed here by myself on campus," Tanida said. "It was hard for me, I was alone, all my teammates went back home and it was sad, but I just stayed safe."

Tanida will graduate in a few months, with a degree in Psychology, and has a plan for what she wants to do once she leaves East Lansing. She wants work on parts of her game before returning to Japan to continue playing.

"I'd like to turn pro in Japan first," Tanida said. "My final goal is to come back to the U.S. and play in the LPGA tour, but first I will go home and play."

Players Mentioned

Yurika Tanida

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