Aussie Olympians Minjee Lee and Hannah Green playing in Calgary as Games begin

When the Olympics get under way, two of Australia’s leading medal chances will be a long way from Paris as sporting calendars collide.

When a horde of Australia’s athletes board their boat to cruise down the River Seine for the historic Olympic Games opening ceremony, Minjee Lee won’t even be in France.

Instead, the world No.12, who will compete in her third Olympics in Paris, will be in Canada, playing in an LPGA tournament, along with Olympic teammate Hannah Green, an event she hopes will provide an “up” moment in what she described as an “up and down year” yet to yield a win.

The women’s golf will be played after the men’s event, in the second week of the Olympics, with Lee hoping to catch the final round of her brother, Min Woo, in his own quest for a medal in his debut Games.

But before then Lee is in Calgary, where the former world No.2 is keen to re-find the golfing mojo that has deserted her for much of 2024, including her last two events, both majors in which she failed to finish inside the top 20.

“Very up and down year so far. You know, I’ve had a couple good finishes. Other than that, I feel like the score and how I am hitting it and playing hasn’t really matched up and really shown in my results,” she said.

It’s been a frustrating year for Minjee Lee. Picture: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

“So it can be frustrating at times, but it’s golf, and you just got to keep chipping away on it. Especially with changing equipment and things like that. It kind of takes time for you to find the right match for yourself. Especially changing balls and doing a lot of testing over the year.

“So going a little bit back and forth there trying to find the right fit for me.

“Maybe the results have not been as good to previous years, but I know it’s just around the corner.”

Lee said she put the jam-packed big-event schedule with two majors leading in to the Olympics in perspective, refusing to “get too ahead of myself” despite the lure of big wins.

“I feel like I just always try to come back to the basics and not try to overcomplicate things,” she said.

“I have really high expectations just like everybody else for myself. I just feel like if I get too ahead of myself and get lost in those kind of thoughts, it makes it that much worse.”

Hannah Green will be at her second Olympics in Paris. Picture: Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP

Lee revealed she had played the Olympics golf course, Le Golf National, and would visit the village to get her Games feel but wouldn’t be staying there.

“I’m not actually staying in the village but definitely will go and have a look,” she said.

“I’ve seen a lot of Aussies post about I guess their rooms and things like that, just the gym and things like that.

“So I’m really looking forward to seeing those kind of things. I actually went to play the course, so the course is in really great shape, and I think it’ll be a really great tournament venue for the Olympics.

“I heard that a lot of tickets have been sold, so really looking forward to how the tournament shapes up.”