Lee siblings out to impress as Australian Open breaks new ground

Sporting history beckons at Melbourne’s Victoria and Kingston Heath golf clubs this weekend as they stage world golf’s first dual-gender national championship, with men and women teeing up together in the $3.4 million Australian Open.

And if that’s not enough, Perth siblings Min Woo Lee (24) and Minjee Lee (26) could create their own piece of golfing history by capturing the Australian Open double.

It’s unlikely a brother and sister have won their country’s national Open in the same year in golf — or too many other sports, for that matter — but the way they are playing this year, it’s certainly not out of the question.

Ladbrokes is offering punters $36 for the Lee double with both golfers well in the markets to win their respective Opens.

Min Woo Lee is a $9 chance behind last Sunday’s Australian PGA winner, Cameron Smith ($3.50), while Minjee is the $4 favourite to win the women’s Open.

READ: Smith overcomes weather delays to win third Australian PGA title

“The unique nature of the year’s Australian Open gives the Lee siblings a shot of pulling off an unprecedented double,” Ladbrokes spokesman Tom Hackett told BettingSite.com.au on the eve of the Opens.

“We’re expecting this double to be pretty popular with punters as both Min Woo and Minjee have had good years on the tour.

“It would be a surprise if the Lee siblings are not in contention on Sunday.”

Minjee Lee won the US Women’s Open in June, collecting the biggest prize cheque (US$1.8m) ever handed out, taking her into second spot for the most prizemoney earned by a female golfer in history.

She ended the US season in fifth place in the world rankings behind good friend, Lydia Ko, who took the number one spot courtesy of her victory in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

Ko is not lining up in the Open, but it’s still a world-class field with two other major winners, American Jennifer Kupcho and South African Ashleigh Buhai (nee Simon), as headline acts.

The Lee siblings said they were excited to be playing together this week.

“It’s pretty cool to be able to play with the men and also the All Abilities tournament that’s going on all at the same time,” said Minjee.

“Obviously playing with Min Woo and being able to see him is really special to me. Just being back in Australia I think is really cool. I haven’t played in a couple of years back home, so I think it’s going to be a great turnout.

“I’m looking forward to seeing all the fans come out and maybe a lot of little kids here and there. I think it will be really fun.”

This is a breakdown of how the two tournaments will be played using the two courses, with the final day played at Victoria Golf Club.

• Two separate Australian Opens, running concurrently. Men and women do not compete against each other or play in mixed groups.
• Fields of 156 men and 108 women. Total prizemoney of $3.4 million shared evenly.
• Male and female groups tee off alternately. Half the fields play at Victoria Golf Club on Thursday, and then Kingston Heath Golf Club on Friday (or vice-versa).
• The final two rounds are played at Victoria Golf Club only.
• Men’s and women’s courses are set up separately, with differences in tee placements and/or par scores.
• After 36 holes, both fields cut to 60 players. After 54 holes, both fields cut to 30 players.
• There is also a 12-player All Abilities Australian Open being contested.

Cameron Smith will be looking to close out an incredible 2022 season — in which he captured the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews — by completing the Australian PGA-Open double.

He is a warm $3.50 favourite with online bookmakers after saluting at Royal Queensland last weekend.

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