Slow-walking people frustrate her – both on and off the golf course – yet her temper is at its most frayed in a different sporting arena.

“On the tennis court, I have such a temper. It’s next level, honestly. Even Dad’s like, ‘Wow, Cass, chill.’ And I’m like, ‘No! I am better than this.’ It really gets on my nerves.”

Yes, LPGA-bound Cassie Porter is the cheery, effervescent person you have seen emerge on the WPGA Tour of Australasia and the Epson Tour the past three years, but there is so much more sitting just beneath the surface.

“There’s definitely a real fire there that burns pretty bright all the time,” Porter confesses.

“I want to be the best. I don’t want that to sound bad, but it’s just a mindset thing.”

“It doesn’t matter what she does, she absolutely has to win,” says Porter’s long-time coach, Dan Morrison.

“I’ll play her at darts, no problems at all. I’ll play her at darts any day of the week. But tennis, no, she’s too good.”

With an LPGA Tour rookie season beckoning, Porter begins her 2025 campaign as one of the marquee names at this week’s Webex Players Series Perth hosted by Minjee and Min Woo Lee at Royal Fremantle Golf Club.

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It is somewhat new territory for the 22-year-old but the next stop along a path she, Morrison and her family have been plotting for close to a decade.

“Six months to a year in, I had almost a hundred percent faith that I knew where we could go with this,” said Morrison, who first started working with Porter when she was just 14 years old.

“I knew she could make LPGA. It’s one of those things that was blindingly obvious.”

‘I woke up one day and couldn’t walk’

Early in 2020, shortly after coming through the stress of completing her final year of high school, everything that an athletic and energetic Cassie Porter had known came to a frightening halt.

At her parents’ home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Porter woke to searing pain in her hip and back, an ailment that she would undergo 16 MRIs in an attempt to diagnose, a range of diagnoses from different specialists failing to find the solution.

It was an 18-month enforced hiatus from the game at a crucial time in a young player’s development, Porter faced with the possibility that she may never play competitive golf again.

“Every doctor I saw told me something different and I was just getting worse. I was in so much pain,” Porter recalls.

“Certain people weren’t scared to tell me that I would never play golf again and that my career’s probably over.

“I just was like, That’s just not it. That’s not where my journey ends.

“I changed my physio and saw a few doctors that I really wanted to see and within six weeks I was back playing pain-free.”

Working closely with Morrison and physiotherapist Jen McKenzie, Porter slowly and methodically rebuilt her body and her game.

When she returned to competitive golf after almost 18 months away, Porter won the Katherine Kirk Classic and Keperra Bowl in quick succession.

At just 19 years of age, she then made the decision to turn professional.

“My coach and I were basically the only ones in our whole circle that were like, ‘Let’s do it’,” Porter says of her move into the pro ranks.

“It was a pretty bold decision, I won’t lie. It did happen quite quickly. I mean, I didn’t play for 18 months. Suddenly I was playing pain-free and straight out the box, I wanted to turn pro.

“I was house-sitting for my sister at the time. I went down to the beach and just cried for four hours. I knew that if I turned professional then… there’s no going back after that.

“It was that cliff that once you take that step, if you have the right mindset, you’re not going to fall. You’re going to fly.”

‘Potential to be a superstar’

Cassie Porter was 12 years old when she first told people closest to her that she wanted to play the LPGA Tour.

Ten years on – and eight years into the plan she and Morrison devised with the United States as the ultimate destination – that pre-teen declaration has become a reality.

A win at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship last June gave Porter the foundation to finish 10th on the Epson Tour points list and secure that coveted LPGA Tour card.

Playing in Perth this week is partly driven by her goal to be top 80 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings by year’s end as she and Morrison plot what comes next.

“Yes, we’ve ticked off a very long journey to get to this point, but it’s the beginning of the main story now,” says Morrison.

“We need to keep putting that work in and be able to justify the work we’ve done and get a reward for the path we’ve travelled.

“We just want to make sure that we do ourselves proud and get those results that we know she’s capable of.”

Adds Porter: “I’m absolutely going to be grateful for every second because it’s what I’ve dreamed of since I was 12.

“It’s a dream come true, but I am also not going to take that for granted. I’m going to work hard because there’s a lot of stuff that I want to achieve out there.”

From the emergence of Karrie Webb through to the current crop of major winners in Minjee Lee and Hannah Green, no one has witnessed the emergence of more Aussie talent than WPGA Tour of Australasia CEO, Karen Lunn.

Having known Porter since she was 15 years old, Lunn believes Australia’s latest addition to the LPGA Tour has the foundation to join the greats of the game.

“You can get there too early, there’s no doubt about that, and the stars have got to align for you to reach the pinnacle,” Lunn adds.

“The Epson Tour has been the best thing for her. She’s absolutely ready to go to the LPGA now, where maybe a year ago she wasn’t.

“If Cassie stays healthy and if she keeps enjoying it, I have no doubt she can get to the very top of the tree.

“She’s got the potential to be another superstar.”

The pair of Paris Olympians will go from headline act to tournament hosts at the course where they developed their games, eager to share what they have learned about the golf course itself and their paths to the top of world golf.

Minjee, 28, is a two-time major champion with 10 career LPGA Tour wins while Min Woo is entering his second year on the PGA TOUR and whose four career wins include the 2023 Australian PGA Championship and 2021 Scottish Open.

It’s a far cry from their formative years in Perth, yet a major motivator in their decision to take on hosting duties for the first Webex Players Series event in their home state.

“It’s a real privilege for us to be able to host, especially in our home state and obviously at our home club, Royal Fremantle,” said Minjee.

“I’ve been here since I was eight years old, so for a tournament like the Webex Players Series to come to Royal Fremantle is a really big deal.”

Min Woo was a 14-year-old amateur when he played the WA Open for the first time in 2012, a tournament that was won by 18-year-old amateur Oliver Goss.

It is why he is so excited to not only provide a platform for elite amateurs and young professionals, but those who will contest the Webex Junior Players Series over the course of the weekend.

“We were lucky enough to play all the professional events before we turned pro and have that experience before we got to the big stage,” said Min Woo, a three-time winner on the DP World Tour.

“That definitely helped get us to where we are now. I’m really excited to see the juniors playing as well. That’s a new thing that’s been happening and I think a lot of good names will come out of it.

“It’s very inclusive to have all the juniors, men, women and All Abilities playing and definitely what we wanted to be part of promoting.”

A 30-time host of the WA Open and host venue of the 1960 Australian PGA Championship, Royal Fremantle Golf Club will mark its 120-year anniversary in 2025.

With such a storied history and the breeding ground of some of Australia’s greatest golfers, Royal Fremantle General Manager, Lucy Guppy, believes it is a fitting way to commence celebrations in a milestone year for the club.

“Royal Fremantle Golf Club is a club with a very proud history but also one that is committed to providing the best experience for a diverse membership,” Ms Guppy said.

“By having men, women, juniors and All Abilities competitors playing, the Webex Players Series is golf’s most inclusive tournament and we couldn’t think of two more appropriate hosts than Minjee and Min Woo.”

For participants who have never played Royal Fremantle, Min Woo says they can expect a golf course that offers up a mix of scoring opportunities and challenging pars.

“If the ‘Fremantle Doctor’ comes through, it can play windy, but then there’s also a lot of scoring opportunities,” said Min Woo.

“It’s definitely a fun course for everyone. I love coming back here. Make some birdies, but there’s also a few tough holes to get us in that frame of mind for the tough courses on tour.

“It’s a really nice mixture and if the greens are nice, it’s going to be a really good time for everyone who’s playing.”

The Webex Players Series is a playing opportunity for women and men professionals and elite amateurs, competing in the same field for the same prize purse in mixed pairings.

For the final two rounds, they are joined by competitors in the Webex All Abilities Players Series and Webex Junior Players Series.

The tournament runs from January 9-12 and entry is free for spectators all four days.

The final two rounds will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo from 4pm-7pm Saturday and 2pm-7pm Sunday AEDT.