The comparisons are unavoidable for siblings Minjee and Min Woo Lee. The two play the same sport – and at the highest level, for goodness sakes.
So far, Minjee has the edge with 10 wins – including two major championships – on the LPGA Tour. But her younger brother Min Woo has been gaining on her of late with four victories, three of which have come on the DP World Tour.
For two weeks in France in August, though, the talented duo will be on level ground as they represent Australia at the Olympics. Min Woo and Minjee are the second set of siblings to compete for the gold medal in golf – joining Americans Nelly and Jessica Korda in 2020.
The men play first with the competition held Aug. 1-4 at Le Golf National, located in the virtual shadow of the famed Palace of Versailles. The women’s competition will be held Aug. 8-11 at the same venue.
“It’s kind of nice because I might be watching him maybe on the weekend if I go in in a little bit earlier,” Minjee said. “So, it will just be pretty exciting to represent our country out at the Olympics, and it's always such a great honor to do so.”
The two first began to talk about a shared Olympic experience at the end of last year when they were among the many Australian hopefuls fitted for team apparel. The teams didn’t become finalized until June and now reality has set in.
“It would be very cool to play with each other … and play our sport that we grew up with and especially represent Australia,” Min Woo said earlier this year. “… If we can get medals, that would be even better.”
Minjee told Australian ABC that was was a “proud sister moment” when the team was announced and Min Woo had made it.
“Anything we do as partners, brother and sister, it's very special,” Min Woo said to the network. “I'm sure my sister, she's been in every event or every team event, so she's just been waiting on me. So, I guess time has come, and yeah, it's very exciting for the family.”
For Minjee, Paris marks her third Olympics. She tied for fifth in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, eight strokes behind gold medalist Inbee Park. When the Games were played five years later in Tokyo due to the pandemic, Minjee finished T29.
Minjee, who’s ranked 12th in the world, says representing your country brings a completely different element to the competition.
“I know week-in, week-out we do play for Australia, but we represent Australia but we're not playing for Australia,” Minjee said in an interview with Australian ABC. “So, I feel like it's just a little bit different, and the atmosphere is just a little different. You just got to be there to experience it.
“I don't know if Min Woo, he won't quite understand right now, but once he goes there, he'll really be able to feel it.”
Interestingly, Min Woo enters the Olympics with more momentum than his sister. He’s had a pair of runner-up finishes this season, including a tie for second at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in late June. Minjee is working through an equipment change and has yet to post a top-10 finish.
And while Minjee has the edge in Olympic experience, Min Woo actually has played Le Golf National at last year’s Open de France. The weather was less than ideal, though, and after a solid start with consecutive 69s, he tumbled down the leaderboard and finished tied for 64th.
“It was tough when I played it last year, it was raining heavily and all the tees had to be moved up because it was the balls were plugging,” Min Woo said. “So, hopefully a better weather, but from all the videos and from being there, it is a tough golf course, and I think that'll be good. It'll bring out the best player in the world and it'll be another challenge.”
Min Woo and Minjee were introduced to the game by their mother Clara, who was a golf instructor, and both were later mentored by Ritchie Smith at Royal Fremantle Golf Club in western Australia. Their father, Soonam Lee, was a swimming instructor and coached basketball – another of Min Woo’s favorite sports growing up.
Minjee was the more serious golfer early on – winning the U.S. Junior Girls Amateur in 2012, four years before her brother captured the U.S. Junior Boys. The fun-loving Min Woo, whose nicknames include “Woozie” and “The Chef,” stopped short of calling his big sister a rival, though.
“Right now, it's more competitive, probably about the wins and who's got the last win,” Min Woo said. “We weren't that competitive as kids. She was on another level, and I was just a junior annoying her and doing all that. So, it was fun to pick on her as a younger brother, but she'll get annoyed me like an older sister.”
The two take very different approaches to the game, as well.
“We're completely opposite,” Min Woo said. “So, I would like my game to be more like hers. I'll describe her as a robot when she plays golf. She doesn't miss fairways, she doesn't miss greens, and when she putts well, she wins tournaments.
“So, it's kind of like boring golf, and boring golf is really good. And me, I hit it in the trees and do all that, and she's never seen a tree in her life. So yeah, it's a bit different.”
Could be an interesting combination if the Olympics adds a mixed team event for golf in 2028 at the Los Angeles Games.
)
)
)
)
