| Virada Nirapathpongporn วิรดา นิราพาธพงศ์พร | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Born | 21 April 1982 Bangkok, Thailand | ||
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  Thailand | ||
| Career | |||
| College | Duke University | ||
| Turned professional | 2004 | ||
| Former tour(s) | LPGA Tour (2006–08) Futures Tour (2004–10) | ||
| Professional wins | 2 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| Epson Tour | 2 | ||
| Best results in LPGA major championships | |||
| Chevron Championship | T21: 2003 | ||
| Women's PGA C'ship | T74: 2007 | ||
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT: 2002-06, 2008 | ||
| Women's British Open | CUT: 2006 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Virada Nirapathpongporn (Thai: วิรดา นิราพาธพงศ์พร, born 21 April 1982) is a Thai former professional golfer who won the 2003 U.S. Women's Amateur.
Nirapathpongporn was born in Bangkok, Thailand. She attended Duke University, where she won the 2002 NCAA Division I Championship.[1] She graduated in 2004 with BA degree in psychology. She was voted the 2004 Nancy Lopez Award as the world's top female amateur. She was also runner-up in the 2003 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links. In 2002, she also won the Honda Sports Award as the best female collegiate golfer in the nation.[2]
Nirapathpongporn turned professional in June 2004 to play on the Futures Tour. In 2005, she won two tournaments. In 2006, she was an LPGA Tour rookie and wrote a blog for lpga.com.
In late February 2011, Nirapathpongporn announced she would be retiring from competitive golf and moving back to Thailand after living in the United States for fifteen years.[3]