The first thing you notice about Stanford golfer Mari Chun is her big smile. Look closer and you find she has a big swing and a big schedule to match.

The 5-foot-6 junior from Pearl City is the top player on the Cardinal team, and perhaps the busiest player, too. Chun is majoring in Japanese language and minoring in mechanical engineering. There have been engineering classes, Japanese classes, an aeronautics/astronautics course, physics classes, a class on East Asian culture, another called Applied Mechanics: Statics. And, of course, lots of golf. When golf practice ends, there is more studying, often with a handful of chocolate — "My stress reliever," she says — and if there's time left over, Chun likes photography, dancing and hiking.

"The workload is definitely a challenge, but I really like the challenge," Chun said. "It's really good for self-discovery and seeing what my limits are. You really can't tell unless you push yourself to that limit.

"... I just constantly wish I could do more. There's so many great things you can do here."

Things like preparing for a career as a pro athlete. That's her dream, and the smart money is on her making it. A former Junior World champ, Chun has played competitive golf since age 9, when she was drawn to it by her golf-loving family. She toils with an eye toward the LPGA Tour, but she's not in a rush to get there. She's having a ball at Stanford and says she won't leave school early for the pro circuit.

"Stanford is a wonderful place to be living," Chun said. "I definitely want the degree. You never know what might happen. In golf, there are many possibilities for injuries. I enjoy learning, and I wouldn't give up all of this for turning pro."

The Kamehameha Schools graduate had the look of a future pro in 2005, when the National High School Coaches Association named her national prep player of the year. EA Sports gave her the same national honor twice. Such eye-opening accolades led college suitors to Chun.

"Recruiting was really exciting," she said. "I had such a great summer between my junior and senior years of high school. All of the recruiting was just a whirlwind. I didn't know what to expect."

Chun visited Arizona State, but once she was accepted at Stanford, the recruitment battle was over. She scratched a trip to UCLA and prepared for the world-class facilities and world-class education in Palo Alto.

"When I came to visit the campus, I was sold. What really appealed to me was that everybody I met here was so nice and so sincere, and also just so talented, not only in academics but in something else," she said. "Everyone here has a passion for something. That got to me because I had a passion in golf and I love studying, and this seemed to fit."

Chun has fit nicely into the Stanford golf program. Her 73.5 stroke average is tops on the team. She led the Cardinal with the same average last season, when she was second-team All-America. This fall, Chun is embracing her new role as team co-captain.

"I don't only feel responsible for myself, I feel responsible for making sure the team has everything that they need, just being there for them, being the head cheerleader, which I enjoy," Chun said with a laugh. "It's so much fun, just being an example for them out there, day in and day out giving your best, constantly having that positive attitude."

Attitude can be a concern when a team does not meet expectations. The Cardinal finished 12th and 17th in its first two tournaments. When asked about it, Chun sounds every bit the team leader. She wouldn't mind if a teammate or two challenged for the top spot on the team.

"Everybody's just struggling right now," she said. "I do hope they'll start really gunning for (the top spot) and challenging themselves. They're so talented. They do have that potential."

Chun says the team is a tight-knit group away from the course. They recently took in a football game together.

"We socialize, we have fun," said Chun, sitting at a picnic table beneath towering Redwoods, steps from her dorm and the golf course. "We have to be here, so why not have fun? It's always intense in practice. Oftentimes when you're in a team setting and you're really working on your game, which is what our team is doing, it's easy to lose sight of that."

Chun hasn't lost sight of her ultimate athletic goal. Being one of the nation's top collegiate golfers doesn't guarantee an LPGA future. Perhaps that's why she is open to changes in her game. An instructor recently led her to try a swing change. With her golf schedule — the team's season covers fall and spring, and summer is busy with individual tournaments — it's been hard to find the right time to change her swing. She gave it a try this summer, just before returning to Stanford.

"I've been working on it. There's definitely a level up that I can take it," said Chun, adding that her short game has been "pretty solid" lately.

Chun has been helped by solid instructors, but ask who has influenced her game the most and she points to parents, Alan and Lani. "Day in and day out, they're always supportive," she said. "There have been times when I haven't had an instructor. I would try to maintain my own swing, and the only way I could do that was with my parents. They're the only ones I could trust to make sure everything was going well."

Chun reminisces about her Hawai'i home — she's quoted in a media guide saying she would like to bring the Aloha spirit to Palo Alto — but Stanford is home right now, and Chun is loving it.

So what's her favorite part of being on "The Farm" (as locals call Stanford)? Is it the "amazingly talented" people? The good vibes she gets just being on campus? The greatness of it all? Chun says yes to all of the above. And, of course, she says it with that big smile