Hannah Green credits long-time friend and foe Minjee Lee for pushing her golf to new levels as the two major champions both chase a first Australian Open title in Melbourne.
Green and Lee headline a strong women's field that includes Women's Open champion South African Ashleigh Buhai and Chevron Championship winner American Jennifer Kupcho.
Just six months difference in age, the pair grew up in Perth with Green in the shadow of the prodigious Lee, who this year won the US Open and is currently ranked world No.4 - 16 spots ahead of her compatriot.
But Green was first to win a major, claiming the Women's PGA title in 2019 while Lee broke through in 2021 at the Evian Championship.
Neither have won an Australian Open crown, with five-time champion Karrie Webb, also teeing up this week at Victoria Golf Club and Kingston Heath, the last local winner back in 2014.
"My first Australian Open was at Grange when I was an amateur and I came top 20," Green told reporters.
"Since then I've had some good results - I had a third place finish a few years ago.
"I feel like it's such a hard trophy to win here at home but it's definitely one I'm looking forward to and I'll try and get my hands on it this week."
Green said Lee's success continued to be a motivation, both chasing the status of Australia's top-ranked player.
"We just keep pushing each other to try and be the best Australian on tour," the 25-year-old said.
"We've known each other for so long, we both want to lift as many trophies as possible."
Heading into her final tournament of the year, Green was happy with her golf, banking nine top-10 LPGA finishes this year, although victory has proved elusive.
"I haven't really thought about my season too much, but my coach Ritchie (Smith) set a goal of under 70 for my scoring average and I ticked that off.
"That was kind of nice to hear but I'm looking forward to digging into the stats in the next couple of months and finding out what really was the difference this year."
Green is looking forward to a big crowd over the four days in Melbourne, with fans treated to Australia's best women and men golfers including British Open champion Cameron Smith, also hunting his first national crown.
"Sometimes toward the end of the season I just want to be finished but this week I'm really looking forward to playing at home," Green said.
"Hopefully the crowd will be cheering a little bit louder for me when I hit it close and it will be nice to feed off them as obviously I don't get that too much when I play in the US.
"Hopefully I will be smiling the whole entire way."
