For Min Woo Lee, there are several upsides to the men’s and women’s Australian Open golf tournaments being played together next week in Melbourne.
Lee has had a stellar year and is one of the leading chances to win the men’s tournament. But with his sister Minjee Lee ranked No.5 in the world and favourite to win the women’s, there’s a decent chance the first dual-gender Australian Open will end with the Perth siblings standing shoulder-to-shoulder, holding their respective trophies.
That would be an ideal end to the weekend, but for the Lees one of the major allures of the Australian Open’s historic new dual-gender format is the week prior, when the tournament will double as a rare family reunion. The pair are usually in opposite corners of the world, wherever the LPGA and DP World Tours stop that week.
“To be able to share the fairways with my sister and have the family over and all there, that’s special,” Min Woo said.
“These days we don’t really get to see each other and have the family all together, pretty much ever. Maybe the odd Christmas. The last few years have been tough with COVID. But for me, I really enjoy that. We have rented a house and will all be together.”
A Lee double would bring a certain symmetry, too, given both Minjee (2014) and Min Woo (2020) won their first professional tournaments at the Victorian Open, which has been a dual-gender event for the last decade and was the inspiration for the Australian Open to follow suit.
After a two-year COVID-19 hiatus for the men’s Australian Open, and a one-year break for the women’s, Golf Australia announced in April they would make world history by playing the national men’s and women’s championships at the same time. The tournaments begin on Thursday.
Unlike a handful of mixed-gender tournaments played in recent years, men and women will not compete against each other or even play in the same groups.
How the Australian Opens work
- 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 the Kingston Heath Golf Club on Friday (or vice-versa).
- The final two rounds are played 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.
- Winners are awarded at a joint presentation.
(There is also a 12-player All Abilities Australian Open being contested)
The two tournaments are separate but will run concurrently on the same two courses in Melbourne: the Victoria Golf Club and Kingston Heath Golf Club.
Male and female groups will be on course at the same time, however, and will tee off alternately. Two leaderboards will be visible, and the Stonehaven Cup and the Patricia Bridges Bowl awarded to the men’s and women’s winner respectively as per normal on Sunday afternoon. The $3.4 million total prizemoney will be split straight down the middle.
Australian LPGA boss Karen Lunn said the idea to run a mixed Australian Open was floated by Golf Australia boss James Sutherland in 2020 and was quickly embraced.
“It’s a great idea and I am a big advocate for it. In sport we have to innovate and look at different ways of doing things,” Lunn said.
“The Vic Opens work really well and the players love it, the sponsors love it, the government love it and the fans love it, most importantly … and I am sure it will be the case next week. I think we get some big crowds. A lot of other countries are watching us.
“There is certainly room for separate men’s and women’s competitions but if you look at the majors in tennis, they do it. So why not give it a go? I don’t see any downside at all. I honestly haven’t had one negative comment from any of our players.”
Shortly before she won her second major at the US Open in June, stats produced showed Minjee Lee’s short game, consistency and accuracy were superior to many top men on the PGA Tour.
Minjee Lee poses with the trophy after winning the US Women’s Open at Pine Needles in June.Credit:Getty
But with differences in long-hitting power, Golf Australia, the WPGA and the PGA of Australia have spent considerable time working out how to best accommodate both genders on the two Australian Open courses. Taking into account data on average distances of male and female professionals, and the specific layouts of the two venues, experienced tournament director Trevor Herden built the courses.
Women’s tee boxes are further up fairways, or, in some instances, players use the same tees, but with males playing a par four and women a par five. Pin placements will also account for most women not having the force to spin the ball as much as men.
“I guess our goals are we want the winning scores from the men’s and women’s to be fairly similar if we can, and to give the players the opportunities to hit the same clubs into greens. So to try and make it as equal as we could and as fair as we can,” Lunn said.
“There are obviously going to be compromises on both sides. The men are used to playing pin positions that are super, super tough, especially on the weekends, tucked behind bunkers and so on. The compromise might be that pin might be one metre more towards the middle of the green.
“And the women’s course will be a little bit shorter than they’re used to playing, just because we want them to have the same opportunity to be hitting similar clubs into the green, and scoring as well as the men do. We know from a skill level that the women are just as good as the men, at this very top level. We just want to give them the opportunity to show their talent.”
A decision will be made next week about whether the men’s or women’s tournament will finish first, and thus have the notional indignity of being ushered off to allow the next tournament to finish. Organisers say both champions will be honoured on their own subsequently, in a joint ceremony.
There have been some grumbles about Australian golf’s progressive change, with former Olympian Scott Hend boycotting the event because he thinks “both men and women should have their own week to stand out and shine by themselves”.
Min Woo Lee was right at home at Augusta National finishing 14th at this year’s Masters.Credit:AP
“Scott is entitled to his opinion and he is a nice bloke so I am not going to bag him,” Lunn said.
“But I don’t understand his perspective on this because they are still two completely separate events. There will be two trophies. I don’t really understand where he is coming from.”
A 12-player All Abilities Australian Open will also be held alongside the men’s and women’s tournaments.
“We are going to see some fantastic golf, men’s and women’s and all in the same place, and that’s really refreshing given what’s been going on in world golf the last six months,” Lunn said.
“To have all of the top Aussie girls and all of the top Aussie boys in the fields, and all playing together, it is a dream for us really.”
Watch the Australian PGA Championship on the 9Network and 9Now from November 24-27.
