There are twin sentiments permeating the home contingent in the women’s field at this ISPS Handa Australian Open.
On one hand is an opportunity to enjoy some camaraderie; on the other is a desire to lift the trophy – something an Australian woman hasn’t done since 2014. (Incidentally, the last Australian woman not named Karrie Webb to win was Jane Crafter in 1997.)
As the top two Aussies on the Rolex Rankings, Minjee Lee (ranked fifth in the world) and Hannah Green (28th) are the prime candidates to break the drought. Both exuded an air of competitive ease this afternoon.
“I feel like every Australian Open when we come back, we can have a huge reunion with the people that we haven’t seen for a really long time. So once a year we all get together and chat about life and all those good things,” Lee said.
Green says she feels the gravity of competing on home soil and the quest to win her national championship.
“It’s a different kind of pressure playing at home,” she said. “I feel like probably we put more pressure on ourselves more than there is outside pressure. Our toughest challenge is probably ourselves trying to chase that trophy but not get too ahead of ourselves.”
The two West Australians are both playing their first professional tournaments in Sydney. Both women also have a reason to keep an eye on proceedings across in the men’s championship. Lee has younger brother Min Woo to follow, while Green’s fiancé Jarryd Felton – a multiple winner on the PGA Tour of Australasia – is also in the men’s field.
Meanwhile, there is a history of Minjee winning soon after Min Woo takes out a title. After the younger sibling’s Australian PGA Championship victory last Sunday, the stars look to be aligning for ‘big sis’.
“It’s always exciting and I’m super-proud of him and how he’s been playing so far,” Minjee said. “Over the past year he’s been playing great. It’s always great to watch when your family’s doing so well.”
While the championships this week are separate – so the ‘scaling’ of the golf courses is less of a factor than at Webex Players Series events – there is still a need to create parity between the men’s and women’s fields and offer matching challenges. That’s an even greater task when playing across two golf courses.
“I played the back nine at The Lakes today and it felt like the distance comparison is probably quite [noticeable between] the [tees for the] men and the women, but I felt like around The Aussie – I played the back nine – it felt kind of similar,” Lee said. “Some of the tees felt a little closer to each other than it was in comparison to The Lakes.”
“I’ve only played The Lakes kind of casually,” Green added, “so I’ve played from forward tees, but today I felt like there wasn’t really an in-between tee where we’d be [using a] similar club.
“It was either the men were going to have an advantage or the women were going to have an advantage. I thought they might try to make every par the same, but we have some par 5s. Even on the 17th at The Lakes, it’s actually a par 5 for the men and a par 4 for the women. I think it would be easier if every par was the same, but obviously it depends on the facility and the course that we have.
“But I’m hoping that doesn’t draw away from the competition. They are two separate events. We’re not playing for the same trophy. I know there are events like that worldwide, but we are still playing two championships at two different venues.”
After a pair of foreigners reigned in Melbourne a year ago, perhaps this year will yield two home-grown victors.
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