Gold medal hopeful Minjee Lee has revealed her Olympic wish as she prepares to lead a four-person team at the first of the Aramco Team Series events at Centurion Club in London this week.
Lee and fellow Australian Stephanie Kyriacou are two of the 36 team captains for the first of four team events to be held throughout the Ladies European Tour season.
Due to become Australia’s first two-time Olympic golfer in Tokyo later this month, Lee is excited at the prospect of again being part of Team Australia alongside fellow West Australian Hannah Green, lamenting only that the competition itself is an individual event and not a team format.
“I just feel like the Olympics should almost be a team format,” said Lee, who selected England’s Hayley Davis with her captain’s pick with Slovenia’s Katja Pogacar rounding out her team of professionals.
“It’s like the Olympic Games, like you’re representing Australia. I know golf is an individual sport, but maybe there should be a part that is a group format or an accumulated score.
“It would just make it so different. I feel like there would be some more fight.”
A mixed format in future would open the door for Lee and younger brother Min Woo Lee to represent their country as teammates, big sister insistent that they would complement each other despite one rocky experience working together on the golf course.
“We have never played mixed foursomes before because there was no tournament like that when we were growing up but he did caddie for me one time,” Lee recalled.
“He was pretty much sacked after the first two holes! I said ‘You’re never caddying for me again!’
“But I think it would be fun if there was mixed foursomes or something.
“Min Woo would actually be a really good partner. He would probably bring out the qualities I see in him in me, the things I would like to be bought out.
“I just think it would be really fun because we are brother and sister.”
The last time Lee appeared in a Ladies European Tour event she was victorious at the Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic last November and is excited to return in another innovative format.
This week’s London tournament is the first of five Aramco-sponsored events scheduled on the LET calendar for 2021. They include the Aramco Team Series – Sotogrande (August 5-7), the Aramco Team Series – New York (October 14-16) and the Aramco Team Series – Jeddah (November 10-12). The Jeddah event will take place just days after the Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by the Public Investment Fund, being held from November 4-7.
“I almost feel this is like where I grew up. I played a lot of events as an ‘am’ over here,” Lee said of her return to Europe.
“Over the years I’ve seen a lot of the girls and it just feels very down to earth here, very relaxed. I just like coming back and seeing all the girls.
“It’s just a really friendly tour, and everyone seems like sisters over here. It’s just a very nice atmosphere.”
The format of the Aramco Series sees the two best scores of the three professionals in each group to count each day with an individual event also running in conjunction.
World No.9 Lexi Thompson selected English icon Dame Laura Davies with her pick with last-start winner Stephanie Kyriacou selecting England’s Rachel Drummond and Whitney Hillier chosen by Scotland’s Kelsey MacDonald.
