Sometimes golf can run in the family. That was obvious on Sunday afternoon at Wilshire Country Club, where Moriya Jutanagarn clinched her first LPGA tour victory in front of her accomplished younger sister, former World No. 1 Ariya. Their tearful celebration at the 18th green showed the strength of the connection. It also got us thinking: When it comes to active players, are their any siblings that could challenge the Thai pair for golfing excellence? Here’s a definitive ranking of golf’s 10 best siblings.
10. Minjee and Min Woo Lee
Australian Minjee Lee has already had plenty of success on the LPGA tour, having claimed three titles before her 21st birthday. The 21-year-old sits at No. 17 in the Rolex World Rankings.
Her younger brother Min Woo is turning heads, too. Min Woo, 19, is the reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion, making the Lees the only siblings to win USGA junior championships. Lee is currently No. 9 in the amateur world rankings, which means this family is likely to be around for a heck of a long time.
9. Rafael and Emma Cabrera-Bello
A strong 2017 and beginning to ’18 has cemented Rafael as one of the game’s rising talents, and the world No. 25 will likely be in contention for one of Europe’s Ryder Cup spots — he’s currently No. 12 in the rankings.
Rafa’s younger sister, Emma is no slouch, either. The 32-year-old has made more than 100 tournament appearances on the Ladies European Tour and is currently ranked No. 716 in the world.
8. Tony and Gipper Finau
The Finau brothers broke onto the scene at a young age. It was actually Gipper who cracked golf’s top levels first: At age 16, he finished T-58 at the 2006 Utah Energy Solutions Championship. The pair went on to appear together in the 2009 edition of Golf Channel’s Big Break series.
Over time, Tony’s career has turned out far better. The world No. 33 has risen to the top in recent years, including a top 10 at the Masters earlier this month despite suffering a horrifying ankle injury the day before the event.
Gipper, meanwhile, is holding on to his world No. 1,985 ranking, still trying to recapture the magic he had when he turned pro as a high schooler. He has played in three more Web.com tour events since his debut, each in their home state of Utah, but has missed the cut each time. Still, Gipper isn’t done chasing the dream; he’s playing on the mini-tours and has entered Q School in an effort to get back onto the game’s bigger stages.
.jpg)
7. Wesley and George Bryan
It can get lost just how remarkable it is that the Bryan Bros got famous as trick-shot artists before Wesley made the full leap into competitive action — and became a PGA Tour winner. It’s been a bit of a rough patch for the 28-year-old, who hasn’t notched a Tour top 25 since last July, but he still checked off a major accomplishment this year, playing in his first Masters.
George, 30, is working on carving out a spot in the pro golf world, too. The elder of the two has been playing on PGA Tour Latinoamerica, where his play has been highlighted by a T-4 at the 2017 Essential Costa Rica Classic (as well as a bizarre rules situation). George, ranked 1,567 in the world, also made the cut at the 2017 LECOM Health Challenge on the Web.com tour.
6. Danielle and Alex Kang
Danielle Kang made her first professional victory count when she took down a major, the 2017 KPMG LPGA Championship. The former two-time U.S. Amateur champion has ascended to No. 22 in the world.
She and her older brother Alex both call Las Vegas home, and Alex can play, too. The 27-year-old sits at 50th on the 2018 Web.com tour’s money list, a step up from the 2017 season, when he finished 85th.
5. Francesco and Edoardo Molinari
If this list were being compiled at the start of the decade, there’s no question that this duo would sit at No. 1. The brothers Molinari won the 2009 World Cup of Golf as partners and then were reunited as Ryder Cup teammates (and partners!) for Europe in 2010 in Wales.
Francesco, 35, has won four times on the European Tour, while Edoardo won on the European Tour for the third time in 2017 — his first victory in nearly seven years. Francesco has maintained a high level of international play and ranks No. 31 in the world, while 37-year-old Edoardo has slipped to No. 385.
4. Lexi, Nicholas and Curtis Thompson
Lexi Thompson needs little introduction. The No. 3-ranked player in the women’s game has been in the public eye for nearly half her life, and feels like a veteran even at 23 years old. Less heralded? Her two pro brothers, Nicholas and Curtis. Curtis, 25, has made just one cut on the Web.com tour in 2018, but one thing is for sure: He can smash it. Thompson led the Web.com tour in driving distance at 325 yards a pop in 2017, when he finished 90th on the money list. Nicholas, who has notched a handful of top-fives on the PGA Tour over the course of a lucrative career (collecting more than $6 million), has mostly been playing on the Web.com tour of late. He finished at No. 32 on the 2017 money list and is currently ranked No. 749 in the world.
3. Brooks and Chase Koepka
The defending U.S. Open champion and his younger brother teamed up a year ago this week to take on the Zurich Classic, where they finished T-5 after a sparkling final-round 62. Before a wrist injury led to surgery and some time away from the game, Brooks, 27, had cemented himself as one of the game’s top American stars. Chase, 24, earned status on the European tour after finishing 9th on the Challenge Tour. He has ascended to No. 299 in the world.
In October, the Koepka bros each led their respective tournaments 4,000 miles apart from each other.
2. Jessica and Nelly Korda
The Korda sisters have made waves this year as they’ve jumped up several leaderboards. Jessica, 25, already has four victories on tour, the first of which came as a teenager in Melbourne, Aus. Nelly, 19, has shown the same precociousness since joining the tour in 2017, notching a handful of top 10s including a runner-up finish at this year’s HSBC Women’s World Championship.
The two opened up on their relationship in a GOLF.com podcast with Alan Shipnuck in March.
1. Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn
Ariya and her mother watched excitedly (and nervously) as sister Moriya putted out on the 18th green Sunday to clinch her first LPGA victory. The sisters shared a long, tearful hug afterward. It had been six years and 156 starts since Moriya had joined the tour and won Rookie of the Year honors, but Moriya is still just 23 years old.
With the win, the Jutanugarn sisters have made it official: They’re best sibling duo in the game today. Ariya, ranked No. 6 in the world, doesn’t have much breathing room for bragging rights, according to the World Rankings. Moriya’s win sent her to No. 11.
Ariya is a year younger but won more quickly on tour, becoming the first player from Thailand to win a major championship (not to mention adding six more wins since then). The Jutanugarns now join Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam as the only other sisters to win on the LPGA.
