Sisters often do it for themselves, but for the three Keh siblings from Auckland, their golfing adventures are very much all in the family.
Munchin aged 32, Wenyung, 27, and Siyi, 25, started playing after their father Michael took up the game. In his spare time, he would play 18 holes close to home at Pakuranga Golf Club. Their mother Elaine would be working so Michael needed something to entertain the three sisters, as well as their brother Gim while he was playing, so the kids all took up the sport.
From there, they started taking part in junior days at the club and having fun every Sunday. When they started winning club competitions and getting into regional tournaments it started to get a bit more serious and in time, one of the four siblings dropped away.
“Gim’s given up now because he couldn’t beat us,” says Siyi.
Gim, 30, has subsequently taken up boxing and now lives in Queensland, but his three sisters spend plenty of time across the Tasman too, now that they have all become professional golfers.
Parents Elaine, who is Vietnamese-Chinese and Michael, who is Malaysian-Chinese, met in New Zealand, where all four children were born and raised. The sisters are all currently members at Titirangi Golf Club and are all coached by Marcus Wheelhouse. Wheelhouse himself is a former world number one ranked amateur golfer who is also Ryan Fox’s coach, having started working with the current New Zealand number one player in 2012. The sisters also work closely with their strength and conditioning coach Paul Greenwood in Auckland, who specialises in working with golfers.
L to R, Munchin, their trainer Paul Greenwood, Siyi, and Wenyung, together in 2022 at Boxing Alley boxing gym in Parnell. Photo: Supplied
Munchin and Wenyung first attracted national attention a little over 12 years ago, aged 19 and 15 respectively, when, for the first time in the 119 years of the championship, two sisters contested the New Zealand Amateur final. The 36-hole final at the Mount Maunganui Golf Club was a close-run affair, going all the way to the last hole before Munchin cooly sunk a birdie putt to take the title.
In 2014, all three sisters made golfing history while in Auckland colours at the Riverside Golf Club in Lochiel. It was the first time three sisters had represented their province, at the New Zealand women’s interprovincial golf tournament, a national event that started in 1949.
Youngest sister Siyi has fond memories of their early adventures but also recognises how it’s changed as they have developed into adults.
“Growing up it was quite fun when we travelled to regional events as a family because we were too young to travel on our own, but now we’re old enough to drive and do our own thing it’s just mainly the three of us touring so we’re basically trying to beat each other week in, week out and also we just try to have fun and help each other out which makes all the difference,” she says.
Most recently, the sisters have all played a full season together on the WPGA Tour of Australasia which kicked off at the start of January and concluded in mid-April with the World Sand Greens Championship at Walcha Golf Club, New South Wales. Wenyung produced the best result of the season for the family at that tour finale, tying for third behind the winner, Lydia Hall of Wales.
L to R, Munchin, Siyi and Wenyung at the 2023 New South Wales Open at Tuncurry Golf Club. Photo: Supplied
Munchin and Wenyung will head to Europe at the start of June where they will play on the Ladies European Tour Access Series (LETAS) which is the official developmental tour for the Ladies European Tour (LET). It offers a series of tournaments across Europe where they can earn order of merit and world ranking points.
Their first tournament will be the Montauban Ladies Open at the Golf de Montauban course in France, between June 7-9. The sisters went to qualifying school in Morocco in December and didn’t quite make the LET, but secured a full season on the Access Series, where they will look to earn their cards for the LET in 2025.
As well as France, they will play in the Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, England and Switzerland and will join fellow Kiwi, Laura Hoskin, who is also taking part in LETAS this year. Hoskin is 28-years-old and from Dunedin.
Whilst Siyi’s older sisters play in Europe, she has decided to take the rest of the year off from competitive golf. Her game isn’t where she wants it to be, so she’s working on a few things with Wheelhouse and will look to do LET qualifying school at the end of the year. It’s a mature decision from someone who has come to appreciate the nature of being on the professional circuit.
“It’s always different week-to-week. You have on and off weeks and that’s how you would see it as a professional career. It’s not all good or all bad. It’s always unexpected. You don’t know what’s going to come to you, it’s more like a life of surprises,” says Siyi.
Ultimately, all three sisters want to be on the LPGA Tour in the USA, home to the greatest players in the game, but to get there, it’s about consistent results and making their way through the different tours first. They all realise that to get there, they will need to continue their dedication to the sport they have grown to love together as sisters.
“Everything we do on and off the course revolves around golf,” says Wenyung. How good then, to have two sisters on the journey with you.
