riceMy mom is a professional golfer and she started teaching at the local driving range when my sister Minji was born. Minji and I grew up with our mom at the driving range. My dad took up golf after he met my mom and became a high handicap player. I wasn’t a big golfer as a kid, but since we’re a golfing family, it’s always been a part of my life. Minji won multiple majors and it was clear to me from a young age that she would be great. It took me a long time to fall in love with golf.
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I was a bit naughty when I was a child. I have a lot of energy and it's hard to focus on golf. I gravitate towards more exciting sports. I loved playing basketball and was a competitive swimmer. I don't remember any specific golf lessons from my parents. It was hard to listen to my parents as a kid, but they did expose me to golf and helped me get pretty good at it – even though I didn't want to.
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Photo: Dom Furore
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Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t fall in love with golf right away. I attribute my excellent chipping and putting abilities to good hand-eye coordination, which I developed from playing other sports. As I got older, I realised I could hit the ball farther than anyone else, which was fun. At 15, I was selected to represent my state in the Australian Junior Championships. I love the social aspect of golf; that's really how I started to like it.
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Even though I still hated all the boring stuff, I started playing and practicing more. My sister, now the U.S. Women's Open champion, was always good at hitting hundreds of balls on the driving range. I would hit maybe 30 and then get bored. She would practice putting for hours; I would get bored and start hitting the ball randomly, hitting it in impossible places, trying to stand up, squat, and see if anyone would give me a reaction.
At 17, I won the U.S. Junior Amateur. My sister and I are the only siblings to have won titles at the same time. At 19, I wanted to turn pro, but my parents, coach, and agent convinced me to stay an amateur. They told me that I wasn't emotionally mature enough. They were right. I played another year in Australia, where I grew up watching the older pros. When you're young, hitting a bogey is like the end of the world. It's not like that with the pros. I played with people who made mistakes and recovered from them. I tried to emulate the calm and collected demeanor I saw around me, and I got better.
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I turned pro when I was 20 and competed on the DP World Tour, the Korean Tour, and in Australia. In 2021, I had a breakthrough and won the Scottish Open, one of the big events on the DP World Tour. Suddenly, I was sure I could play against the best players in the world. That win got me into the British Open the following week. I didn't make the cut, but got a few more chances on the PGA Tour. It's hard traveling so much and being away from friends, but I'm a gamer; I love Call of Duty. I travel with my gaming laptop so I can play games wherever I go. It's a way to stay connected with friends around the world.
Daniel Boquet
Even though we had completely different approaches to golf, seeing Minjee’s success helped me transition into becoming a professional golfer. She hits the ball in a straight line, while I hit it in a crooked way and it’s always messy. I try to be more like her in practice, spending long hours focusing on the driving range. In 2023, I received temporary special status on the PGA Tour, finished T-5 at the U.S. Open, and officially received my card for 2024.
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I’m a newbie but I’ve already built up a following on social media. I love making golf fun and trying to build a better presence on Instagram and TikTok. Not everyone is big on social media, but I grew up with it so it’s very natural for me. I work with a team who film me on the course and edit videos of me doing everything from playing in pro/am tournaments to signing autographs. The response has been great.
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There’s a saying, let him cook, which basically means “let him do his thing,” and after I finished T-6 at the 2023 Players Championship, people started posting about me. It took off, and the next thing I noticed was there was a bunch of people in the audience wearing chef hats cheering for me. I got energy from that, so I took it. I loved being in the spotlight and trying to make things go viral. The fans loved that, too.
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I knew since I was a teenager that I would be good at golf – I just didn’t know when. I feel like I'm getting really close. When players get really good, they stop trying to make drastic changes to get better. They understand their swing and practice the same things over and over again. Once you get there, you start getting really good results. My first few years as a pro were all about getting to that comfort level. Now I'm really going to start working there.
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