Scholar Stories: Sung Sisters Applying Business Major to Continue Family Business – University of Michigan Athletics

Continuing the series that began in 2017, each week MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.

By Nora Fairbanks-Lee

Watching their older sister grow up playing Division I golf, earning NCAA Academic All-America on four occasions and winning the Archibald Award, the Lauren Sung and Sydney Sung learned what it meant to keep their heads down, work hard and achieve their goals.

Lauren and Sydney began playing golf when they were 5 years old and started competitive tournaments at the age of 8. It seemed to be a family business as they watched their dad and older sister play and eventually fell in love with the sport.

From being part of the women’s golf team at the University of Michigan to pursuing business majors at the Ross School of Business, one of the top MBA programs in the world, the Sung sisters are used to conquering challenges. Their dedication to school and their sport is a practiced art, perfecting their time management skills by balancing schoolwork and competitions their whole life, such as with the Nanea Tournament in Hawaii.

In Hawaii, they showed that they can do it all. Lauren and Sydney explained the complexity of traveling while balancing schoolwork, saying they would wake up at 3 a.m. local time to complete assignments due to the six-hour time difference. Even though they woke up early to meet with their groups and complete their work, the Sungs still provided their best for their team. Lauren had her season-best with a 218 (-1) rally during the Nanea Tournament, playing her way to her second top-20 finish in the 2024-25 season. She has had a phenomenal season, shooting a season low of 70 twice.

Similarly, Sydney has been competing at her best. While still performing in the classroom, earning Academic All-America honors, which requires a grade-point average over 3.5 and competing in more than half of the Wolverines’ events, she also had one top-10 finish in the 2024-25 season and reached a career-low 54-hole total of 217 at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational. She had missed out on the award her freshman season having not competed in enough tournaments to qualify, but worked tirelessly on the greens and in the classroom since.

“I worked hard to change my mindset and work towards it,” Sydney said. “Being focused on school as well as athletics and put my all into everything.”

They’ve both now received the Academic All-Big Ten and the U-M Athletic Academic Achievement twice.

Lauren and Sydney are both in the Ross School of Business. Lauren’s concentration is in finance and sales, while Sydney’s focus is on marketing within the entertainment industry. Like golf, they were inspired by their sister, Katherine, who also pursued a business degree. They saw the benefits of these classes and the application to golf, as their dad always said many business deals are made on the golf course.

Lauren reflected on how business relates to multiple domains and that their concentrations are the perfect integration of golf and their respective fields. The Sung sisters discussed their dream of starting their own business, alongside their sister and dad, reifying the family business.

Through their studies at Ross, the Sungs increased their expertise in business through classes, such as TO 300 or Managerial Accounting. While TO 300 and Managerial Accounting may seem daunting, Lauren and Sydney have learned to love them. They’re able to see what goes into business deals they may encounter in the future, such as basic operations, databases, blockchains and more.

The business major touches on accounting, finance, management and marketing, offering specializations in entrepreneurship and leadership, providing access to a global network of alumni and the opportunity to learn from experts. During their time on the golf course, the Sung sisters often contemplate what goes into forming tournaments, such as business deals, partnerships and sponsorships. They often discuss the future of golf as they contemplate their futures.

While professional women’s golf is still on the horizon, Sydney and Lauren are laying the foundation for their future learning about the foundations of business, with the possibility of future deals coming their way.

For Sydney and Lauren, their acceptance into the Ross School of Business was a pivotal moment. Sydney reflected on when she found out, and what she remembers.

“I started jumping up and down and being so happy that I got in,” said Sydney. “Business was a big thing for me. I felt like all my hard work finally paid off by getting into such a prestigious program.”

The 2024-2025 Michigan women’s golf team brings back only four returners. With such a young team, leadership, confidence and chemistry have been a priority for the Sungs. To strengthen their team, Lauren and Sydney have taken on the roles of leaders as they are currently the oldest members of the team. While it has been an adjustment for the two, they’ve embraced the challenge, focused on everyone achieving their highest potential and building up leaders.

Now upperclassmen, the Sung sisters are proud of how they finished their fall season and look to improve upon it in the spring. They look forward to embracing the challenges awaiting them, leading their team to a third Big Ten Championship appearance.

While balancing golf with a demanding major like business is very taxing, the sisters are prepared due to their support system, composed of family, coaches and their team. They are motivated by their desire to work hard and their passion to continue in their sister’s footsteps.