Sibling rivalry will be alive and well at the 2018 Oates Vic Open with the Lees preparing to make the trip across the Nullabor to Barwon Heads.

Australia’s number one female golfer Minjee Lee and younger brother Min Woo – the nation’s highest-ranked amateur – are locked in to tee it up at 13th Beach Golf Links for the second straight year.

As the current World Number 19, Minjee will likely be the highest-ranked professional in either the men’s or women’s fields, while Min Woo sits 14th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Min Woo showed a liking for 13th Beach last year after claiming Low Amateur honours with an outstanding T6 finish that also gave the 19-year-old something to remind his sister about back home.

“I definitely bragged about it for a bit!” Lee told Golf Victoria.

“It was the only tournament we played together since the junior days. So I have the upper hand right now and hopefully we can keep it like that!"

The elder Lee may have conceded defeat after a T36 result last year but Minjee already has one up on her brother, after winning the 2014 Oates Vic Open as an amateur at the age of 17.

Minjee is the only female to have claimed the title before turning pro and brother Min Woo will be looking to join Robert Allenby (1991) and Brad Lamb (2000) as just the third male amateur to win the Oates Vic Open.

“That would be amazing,” said Lee.

“We both won the US Junior and we were the first brother and sister to do that, so that was really cool. Definitely winning a pro tournament as an amateur, that’s another thing.

“I’ve played with most of these professional guys now in the starts I’ve gotten on the Aussie tour and at the Australian Open.

“I’m a much better player than last year so I’m hoping I can be near the top of the leaderboard again.”

Min Woo will enter the 2018 Oates Vic Open as the favourite to again finish as the men’s Low Amateur amongst a talented crop of Australia’s brightest young stars, including Victoria’s triumphant 2017 Interstate Series team.

“I had the lowest round of the day on Sunday, so I think when I finished I was pretty close to the lead until the leaders ran away with it,” said Lee.

“I enjoyed playing the course and I think I have an advantage with playing in the wind because Perth is pretty windy.“

The Oates Vic Open’s unique format – where men and women tee it up in alternating groups for equal prize money – will again provide the Lees an excuse for a family holiday of sorts.

“It’s awesome to play with the ladies to mix it up and generate a bit more excitement,” said Lee.

“I’m pretty sure the whole family is going to be there, I know Dad and my Mum and Grandma will come over and support us.

“It’s good to have the family back together. We don’t get that much time together so it’s good to get us all there and have kind of like a holiday because the whole year, it’s pretty much just golf.”

The Hon. John Eren MP, Victoria’s Minister for Sport, is looking forward to welcoming the West Australian siblings to the state.

“Having Australia’s number one female golfer Minjee Lee and younger brother Min Woo compete together is sure to inspire more people and more families to get active,” said Minister Eren.

“The Andrews Labor Government is working hard to keep our status as Australia’s home of golf – we’ve already locked in the Presidents Cup in 2019 and the Australian Open in 2020 and 2022.”

City of Greater Geelong Mayor Bruce Harwood says the inclusion of the Lees for 2018 will further strengthen the men’s and women’s fields.

“The City is proud to sponsor the 2018 Oates Vic Open and the inclusion of Minjee Lee and her brother Min Woo in an already high-quality field further ensure a memorable four days of golf,” said Mayor Harwood.

“If you love the sport, or just want to experience a world class event in one of our region’s most spectacular locations, make sure you get along to this year’s Oates Vic Open.”

Two of Australian golf’s most decorated careers will continue on home soil from February 1 when Robert Allenby and Peter Lonard tee it up at the 2018 Oates Vic Open.

The experienced duo add further depth to the men’s field in 2018 which already boasts the last five male champions and the biggest names from the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia.

Victorian Allenby is heading back to 13th Beach Golf Links for the second straight year as he continues his hunt for a second Oates Vic Open crown.

Lonard, a nine-time winner on the ISPS Handa PGA T­­­­­­­­­our of Australasia, joins the Oates Vic Open field for the first time since 2015.

“I think the Vic Open where the girls play and the boys play together is a good concept, it makes sense to me,” Lonard told Golf Victoria.

“I think the actual concept of putting everyone together and perhaps appealing to a wider range of people is a great idea.

“For me, it’s really interesting to see the way the girls practise, the way they approach the game."

In recent weeks Lonard has been sharpening his own game at his home club in Sydney, the notoriously breezy The Lakes Golf Club.

“Through my career I suppose my better golf has been played on firmer, bouncier courses with wind, it just suits the way I like to fly the ball,” said Lonard.

“I think 13th Beach sets up really well and it’s a really good test of golf, particularly when the wind blows.”

After overcoming injury in 2015, Lonard returned to the US and has spent the bulk of the past two seasons on the Web.com Tour.

In his senior circuit debut, Lonard finished third at the Senior Open Championship last July and the 50-year-old hopes to split his time in Europe and on the US Champions Tour in 2018.

“It was good fun seeing a lot of old guys because I played in Europe in the 90s and there was a lot of guys I hadn’t seen in 15 years – same blokes, same villains, same everything,” said Lonard.

“It’s like it’s always been, if I’m in Australia I’ll always try to play what Australia’s got to offer.

“There’s a lot of kids that I don’t know but there’s a lot of blokes still sniffing around. It’s great to see them all.”

Allenby adds to the list of former champions in the 2018 field, but the Victorian remains the only male amateur winner in the tournament’s history after his 1991 triumph at Woodlands Golf Club as a 20-year-old.

That win was the first of 13 career victories on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, the highlight coming in 2005 when Allenby became the first player to win the Triple Crown (the Australian Open, Australian PGA Championship and Australian Masters) in the same year.

Rounds of 70-70-71 saw Allenby narrowly miss the unique 54-hole cut at last year’s event but gave the 46-year-old a good look at 13th Beach in his first appearance at the Oates Vic Open since 1999.

The countdown to the 2018 Oates Vic Open is officially on, with fans locally and around the world getting set for one of the world’s most unique golf tournaments.

Friday’s launch breakfast at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong signalled less than eight weeks until a host of Australia’s and the world’s most talented male and female golfers hit 13th Beach Golf Links in Barwon Heads for this one of a kind event.

Speaking at the launch, Minister for Sport, The Hon. John Eren addressed all in attendance, highlighting the importance of the Oates Vic Open to the region.

“The Victorian Government is proud to support the Oates Vic Open. It’s one of the events that brings so many people to this region and that’s why we’ve consistently boosted the prize money to ensure the event continues to grow. We’re proud to work with our sporting partners to keep these major golf events coming,” said Eren.

Also speaking at the launch was City of Greater Geelong Deputy Mayor, Cr. Peter Murrihy who reiterated the Oates Vic Open is a landmark event on the city’s annual sporting calendar.

“The city is proud once again to support this popular and unique event. 2018 marks the 6^th consecutive year the tournament has been held in the Geelong region. In exciting news as of yesterday, the City of Greater Geelong via Geelong Major Events extended its host city sponsorship of this fantastic event for another three years through to 2021.

“The beautiful 13^th Beach Golf Links on the Bellarine Peninsula is significant for tourists to get the chance to combine their love of golf and some of the best beaches, wineries and scenery in Australia,” said Murrihy.

Again in 2018, those unable to make it to the Bellarine Peninsula to walk the fairways alongside the players will be able to experience the next best thing with the return of the Oates Vic Open live stream over the weekend.

Broadcast in HD across www.vicopengolf.com and Facebook LIVE, the live stream of the final two rounds will again be anchored by Channel 7’s Grant Dodd and Ali Whitaker plus special on course commentators.

Viewership of the live stream in 2017 grew 500 per cent on the previous year, with friends, family and golf fans around the globe tuning in to catch Dimi Papadatos’ triumph and Mel Reid’s gruelling three-hole playoff victory.

In more good news, both Reid and Papadatos are set to return to the scene of their 2017 triumphs and will attempt to become the first player, male or female, to win back-to-back Oates Vic Open crowns since Bruce Devlin in 1962-63.

Simon Brookhouse, CEO of Golf Victoria, is thrilled to see the Oates Vic Open growing bigger and better every year.

“We’ve never been more excited for the Oates Vic Open to come around and we can’t wait to get down to 13^th Beach in February,” said Brookhouse.

“Both the men’s and women’s fields will be as strong as ever and that’s something we’re extremely proud of.

“We know the fans, at the golf course and watching at home, want to see the world’s best golfers in Barwon Heads and we want to reward the players with a bigger prize pool every year.”

In 2017 a total of 12 Rio Olympians teed it up at the Oates Vic Open, with both the men’s and women’s fields expected to be as strong as any seen on Australian shores in 2018.

The Oates Vic Open will again provide the perfect tune-up for some of the world’s leading ladies, with the ISPS HANDA Women’s Australian Open underway in Adelaide just a fortnight later.

The Oates Vic Open will kickstart a huge three weeks for women’s golf in Australia, with the ALPG Tour launching the new ActewAGL Canberra Classic the week after the Oates Vic Open.

The men’s event will again be one of the landmark stops in the early stages of the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season, with the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth kicking off the following week.

The Oates Vic Open is the only golf tournament across the globe where men and women compete on the same courses concurrently, for the same prize money, at the same time.

In 2018, the shared prize pool will be greater than ever before, with the men’s and women’s fields to compete for $650,000 each, up $150,000 each on last year.

From Thursday February 1, a total of $1.3 million will be up for grabs across 13^th Beach’s Creek and Beach Courses with alternating men’s and women’s groups across all four days.

Head to www.vicopengolf.com for more information.