Ritchie Smith is not a name widely known by Australians.
But he is a key figure driving three of the country’s four Olympic golfers toward a potential medal in Paris.
The Perth coach is the man behind the swings of Hannah Green, Minjee Lee, and Min Woo Lee. The only member of the team he doesn’t coach is Jason Day.
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Green – who won an LPGA Tour event barely a month ago – will play in her second Olympics after narrowly missing out on a podium finish in Tokyo in 2021.
The world No.7 teamed up with Western Australia coach Smith when she was 12 years old.
The pair will now attack the Games together in the hope of bringing some gold home to Fremantle.
“It’s nice to officially be in the team,” Green told media this week.
“It will be really special to have (Smith) at the Olympics.
“I think it’s really great that we’ve had such a long relationship. He’s been coaching me since I was 12 years old and now I’m 27. He’s seen me grow up both on and off the golf course.
“We’ve known each other for so long that we are (able to) do our best work.
“To have three players that he’s worked with for such a long time must be really rewarding for him.”
Smith is known within the golfing world for his success with several athletes at an elite level, with his achievements as a coach earning him PGA Australian Coach of the Year twice (2014 and 2021), WAPGA Coach of the Year eight times, and most recently WA Sport Coach of the Year.
He has previously commented on the varying personalities of his athletes, however Green believes their differences will make no difference to the team environment at the Games.
“This is probably going to be his (Smith) biggest event with all of us competing,” Green said.
“It will be really special to have him there with us all. We always make good memories when we are all together.
“We are all different but we do enjoy each other’s company. It will be a special week in Paris and it will be nice to share that experience with everyone on the team.”
Minjee and Min Woo Lee, who have also been under Smith’s guidance from an early age, made history in their selection, becoming the 16th Australian brother-sister duo to compete in the same sport at the same Olympic Games, and the first to do so in Australia’s golf team.
Minjee Lee will become the first Australian golfer to compete at three Olympic Games when she takes to the course in Paris, while brother Min Woo and fellow Aussie Jason Day both make their Olympics debut.
“It’s really cool to think that we all played junior golf (together) to now becoming professionals and representing Australia and Western Australia, on a global scene,” Green said of the Lee siblings’ selection.
“To be all competing in the Olympics is amazing and for a brother-sister duo to be representing Australia is also really cool.
“Hopefully we can all do really well and get a podium finish, and maybe a gold medal.”
With a successful starting run to the 2024 season credit to her talent, Green is hopeful to finish on the podium in Paris despite not having seen or played on the course during her professional career.
“I’m getting in early over the weekend to watch the men’s (competition) to see how the golf course is played,” she said.
“I feel like I’ve been playing well this year, obviously it’s nice to have won two trophies but I have also been a bit more consistent. I think my bad play has been better this year. I felt like I still played solid last year… but it was something that my coach and I worked on in the off-season.
“Mentally, I feel a bit more fresh than what I have in other seasons. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself because it is hard, sometimes golf courses suit your eyes and I haven’t seen this golf course yet.
“I’ve had a couple of OK finishes in the majors this year and I do consider the Olympics our sixth major. All of us, as much as we want to do well for ourselves, realistically, we just want to bring back a medal for Australia.
“I never really imagined when I first started playing golf that I would become a professional golfer let alone an Olympian so I’m just hoping that I play as well as I have this year.”