Now the opportunity could come to Minjee and Min Woo Lee, who are now both in a strong position to represent Australia in golf at next year’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Minjee is already a dual Olympian, having competed in both Rio and Tokyo, and she is in prime position qualify for Paris, as Australia’s highest ranked female player, at No.5 in the world.

Until the last few months, her younger brother Min Woo would have been at long odds to join her in next year’s Australian Olympic Team. It’s likely that Australia will qualify only two male players and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Cameron Smith (20) and Jason Day (21) are well out in front on the world rankings.

That was before 25-year-old Min Woo struck a rich vein of form in recent months that has made him one of the hottest emerging stars in the sport. He built on a victory in the Macau Open in October to win the Australian PGA Championships in commanding fashion at the Royal Queensland Golf Club on Sunday.

On Monday, his world ranking rose to a career-high No.38 in the world, and he’s now topping the leaderboard going into Day 3 in the Australian Open, being held across The Australian and The Lakes courses in Sydney.

Both Australia’s best women and best men are competing for their national title this weekend so Minjee and Min Woo have the rare opportunity to compete at the same venue. Their paths rarely cross on international tours these days, but both are determined to be at Paris 2024 next year.

In his pre-event press conference this week Min Woo signalled his intention to put himself in a position to win selection for the Olympics by mid-2024. 

“Yes, that is definitely a big (goal),’’ he said. “I guess it’s gotten closer since last week, the world rankings going better, getting better, so that’s definitely – Presidents Cup was one of the big things and now Olympics is an even bigger thing. Representing Australia would be an honour. My sister got to play in it a couple of times and it looked so special, so I’ll be very keen to get on that team and play for Australia.”

Minjee said she had had her eyes on Paris almost since the moment she finished equal 14th with compatriot Hannah Green at Tokyo 2020. Green, ranked 28th, is also likely to join her in Paris.

“It’s a big goal of mine for next season,” Minjee said. “I know Japan wasn’t the proper experience of the Olympics…it was over COVID, so yeah, I just think it would be an amazing atmosphere and obviously it’s such a great honour, if I get in, to represent Australia. The Olympics is just such a special event and I’d really like to be there.”

The Perth siblings have not discussed the prospect of representing Australia together but Minjee said it would be “really cool if we were both there”.

The Lees have taken different paths towards the summit of world golf. Minjee, 27, made an effortless transition from world No.1 amateur as a junior player, to the elite ranks, winning on the LPGA tour in her first year as a professional in 2015.

She has now won ten times on the LPGA tour and claimed two major titles, the 2021 Evian Championship and the 2022 US Open.

Min Woo, 25, has taken a more circuitous route towards the top, via the Australian and European tours, but said he was inspired by his sister’s success.

“Anything she does, she only does really well,’’ he said this week. “Sometimes people say ‘does it suck’, but I don't think it sucks. I would rather her do really well than bad. It’s definitely motivating for me to play as good as her. She does it so easy and I have to bust my butt to win a tournament. She’s got a lot under her belt and hopefully I can get to that stage, which slowly I think I am.”

He said he did not feel pressure to reproduce Minjee’s global success, although his tie for 5th place at this year’s US Open does suggest that he will be a major contender in the coming years.

“I think for my growth it was really good to play international globally (in Australia, Europe and Asia) and then hopefully I can go out and do some damage in America,’’ he said.

However he does confess to feeling a touch of sibling rivalry, noting that his sister has a habit of winning the week after he does.

“I get a little pissed off when she wins the week after, because I got the light on me for a little bit and then four days later or like a week later, she’s holding a trophy,’’ he joked. “We’re happy for each other. We want to only do well and inspire kids and keep playing good golf, so it’s not that bad of a sibling rivalry, but petty, a little petty, from me usually.”

But the fact that the siblings generally feed off each other when one has success shapes as good news for the Australian Olympic Team if they are both teeing up in the green and gold in Paris next year.

The Paris 2024 golf competition will take place between 1 and 10 August 2024 at the Golf National Course, which is located in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, 41 km from the Olympic Village.

Nicole Jeffery