It has been ten years since an Australian lady final received the Australian Open, and if the drought is to be damaged by one of many nation’s LPGA stars, they may do it in astonishing trend.
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Minjee Lee and Hannah Inexperienced stepped off a aircraft from the US on Wednesday morning after enjoying within the LPGA Tour’s season finale final weekend.
They received right here simply in time for the nationwide open to get underway in Melbourne on Thursday the place the Australian pair – who boast three main championships between them – will try to interrupt the house nation’s drought with out having performed a follow spherical.
They rolled into Kingston Heath on Wednesday afternoon bleary eyed however desperate to get a style of the course which is able to host the weekend motion after sharing the primary two rounds with Victoria Golf Membership.
However wild storms repeatedly smashed via Melbourne within the afternoon and shut the course in addition to follow services earlier than they may hit a shot.
Their preparation has been removed from excellent, however each Lee and Inexperienced are taking the stress off themselves and it could be the method to arrange a monumental triumph.
“I’ve at all times, as a result of it’s my nationwide title, I feel I’ve put a little bit bit extra added stress simply on myself to carry out and have a very good outcome,” Lee mentioned.
“However generally it does work in my favour and generally it doesn’t. And I feel extra so than not, it has not labored in my favour. So the previous few years I’ve simply type of are available in with a little bit decrease expectation and simply attempt to have enjoyable and truly actually embrace each second on the golf course.
“We at all times get a very pretty crowd and good crowd, so simply try to give them nice recollections. And final yr I used to be shut however hopefully needed to get lot nearer this yr.”
For Lee, it might be a good way to cap off a “humbling”, winless yr the place she slid all the way down to seventeenth on the planet rankings after being as excessive as quantity two lately.
Alternatively for Inexperienced, it might cap off arguably one of the best yr of her profession.
She has received thrice on the LPGA and was awarded her second Greg Norman Medal – for being Australia’s prime golfer of the yr – final week after claiming her first in 2019 when she received a significant on the KPMG Ladies’s PGA Championship.
The 27-year-old was one of many first gamers to decide to this yr’s Australian Open and though she admitted she was feeling “a little bit bit out of it” on Wednesday, she is assured she will win the nationwide crown for the primary time.
“I feel my type coming into an Australian Open is one of the best it’s ever been,” Inexperienced mentioned.
“Clearly arriving on a Wednesday just isn’t ideally how I’d begin my week, however who is aware of, as a result of I haven’t had a lot time to consider the potential of successful an Australian Open, it may not be a foul factor.”
The final Australian to win the match was seven-time main winner Karrie Webb in 2014, and Inexperienced believes the time is correct for the torch to be handed over from Australia’s biggest ever golfer.
Webb is a mentor to all the prime Australian ladies’s golfers and served as crew captain – for the women and men – on the Olympic Video games in Paris this yr, and it might be becoming that one of many present crop who’re so near Webb breaks the drought.
“Each Minjee and I look as much as her and need to have as many match wins as we will,” Inexperienced mentioned.
“The Australian Open is unquestionably one which I need to win. The previous few years we’ve given it our greatest wager to try to win a type of however we’ve put extra stress on ourselves as a result of we wish it extra.”
Standing of their manner the final two years has been two-time defending champion Ashleigh Buhai.
The South African main winner has relished the position of occasion pooper and is best rested than Inexperienced and Lee as she missed out on making the LPGA Tour Championship so she jetted into Australia a number of days earlier.
Buhai feels “sorry for them” for having the tight turnaround, and she or he additionally is aware of what it’s prone to be beneath stress in entrance of your property followers.
“Clearly I understand how onerous it’s to win your Open. Like I say, any participant, it’s the following factor subsequent to a significant,” she mentioned.
“Clearly I’m glad for myself, that I’m in a position to come over once more and I’ve been in a position to do it, however I feel it’s troublesome since you put that further little bit of stress on your self.
“I do know once I went again and performed the South African Open after successful the Ladies’s British, I imply it was probably the most stress I felt. “Particularly due to the expectation. You’re anticipated to win.”
Grace Kim, who’s in her second season on the LPGA, is the opposite Australian within the subject this week to excessive tail it again from America.