Min Woo Lee has unwittingly let the cat of out the bag by revealing the reason behind his superstar sister's shock form slump after the most glittering year of her career.
After sharing fourth place at the Women's British Open two months on from claiming a second major title at the 2022 US Open, Minjee Lee missed three straight cuts and failed to finish in the top 30 in 10 LPGA Tour events.
For one of the most consistent golfers on the planet, Lee's fall from grace was as spectacular as it was sudden.
Pundits attributed the dip to fatigue after a glorious but gruelling two-title season that also yielded the Perth prodigy majors player-of-the-year honours and a rise to world No.2.
But now Min Woo has revealed Minjee's funk was down to despairing putting woes that could have been career-ending.
The 25-year-old let the secret out after conceding he's still very much the sideshow in golf's most dazzling sister-brother double act, even after a commanding Australian PGA Championship triumph.
His victory at Royal Queensland was his second in four starts after he also won last month's Macau Open.
Minjee also won twice in four starts before rounding out another two-title season with a tie for eighth at the prestigious elite Tour Championship in Florida.
"It's funny because every time I win it seems like next week she wins," Lee said, ahead of this week's Australian Open in Sydney where the WA siblings are among the headline acts.
"So if you guys want to put some money on my sister winning next week, you'll probably win.
"It's cool. If I win next week or she doesn't win, it will be nice to have that (family bragging right) for the Christmas and for the New Year's break, have it for a few weeks, that will be nice.
"But I'm obviously trying to be as good as I can and she's one of a kind. She's a really great golfer and she's not slowing down.
"She knows she slowed down early in the year but she's found a way to win again (after) near career-ending kind of putter yips and now she's slowly overcoming that."
Lee admitted in the afterglow of his fourth professional win on Sunday that he covets the world's top ranking.
He climbed to a career-high No.38 on Monday but knows he has a battle beating the fifth-ranked Minjee to the summit.
But he's also not bothered.
"It's pretty special to see that hard work really happens. That's not a secret to anyone. She's always worked hard and hopefully I can follow in her footsteps and keep winning tournaments," Lee said.
"Everyone knows she's good and I'm slowly becoming a name for myself. The social media presence has been amazing and everywhere I go, it doesn't matter where, I've gotten support, which is fantastic.
"Even the small countries. I tell myself to just keep playing golf and it's nice to have a sister that plays really well. Sometimes a lot of people think it's bad, but I think it's amazing.
"I'd rather her play good than bad. So I'm proud of her and the family and hopefully I can keep going."
