While it seems that LPGA Tour players Ariya and sister Moriya Jutanugarn get on like a house on fire, there is precious little sibling similarity between the two when it comes to their attitude towards golf.
Ariya, Moriya and Brittany Lincicome during a fund-raising event in January. photo: ap
And yet the Jutanugarn sisters -- 'Mo' Moriya, 22, and 'May' Ariya, 21 -- remain inseparable.
The two leading Thai professionals are young and they look fresh even when toiling on a golf course.
Moriya always seems to be more composed and she indeed is the organiser of all affairs in the family.
She is the one who plans everything for herself, Ariya and the family -- golf or otherwise.
For Ariya, well, it seems her duties -- as per her repeated admissions -- only include enjoying golf, watching TV soap operas and eating.
Moriya says that when Ariya does not have to play, she only walks out of her room when she is hungry.
Ariya may have been taming the opposition on golf courses, but it seems Moriya rules on the home front.
Moreover, Moriya compares her younger sister to a goldfish, referring to a false myth that says that the adorable creature has a three-second memory.
Moriya, left, and Ariya with their mother Naruemol at Suvarnabhumi airport yesterday.
She says whatever coach Gary Gilchrist teaches them slips from Ariya's mind very quickly.
While learning anything, Moriya has an appetite for details. Ariya, on her part, is only interested in the answer and is happy to grasp only what is necessary.
"She [Ariya] is just like a goldfish, she can remember things only for three seconds," said Moriya, only to be countered by Ariya: "There is no point digging for the reason for everything. Just know what is to be done and that's enough."
They may have some differences that often result in sisterly banters, but Moriya and Ariya both boast of having a golf lineage as their mother Naruemol actively played the sport.
Naruemol played even when she was pregnant with Moriya and later hired a caddie to act as a nanny for her first daughter.
Moriya was even able to find something in this tale to pick on her younger sister, who really loves using a driver on the course.
Ariya, right, and Moriya during a promotional event last year.
"Mother doesn't use a driver when she plays golf," she said.
The golf heritage clearly seems to be at work as Ariya captured five LPGA Tour titles this year.
Last year, her then-caddie Les Luark convinced Ariya to start using a 2-iron instead of driver and her results started improving as she climbed to No.10 spot in the world before the Thai star further elevated herself to be ranked only second behind Lydia Ko of New Zealand.
But Ariya admits that nothing "excites me more than a well-executed shot with a driver -- not even a birdie or an eagle".
Ariya says that it is the sport's challenging nature which makes it so interesting.
"I had trouble finding an answer to whether I am playing golf because it is fun or to get money to keep myself and the family afloat. I have realised that in fact it's the challenging nature of the sport that I love," she said.
After parting company with caddie Luark, Ariya's search for a replacement ended with Pete Godfrey who introduced many new things to her game.
Ariya and her handlers believe that "smiles" can be an important factor in one's success and Godfrey has so far ensured that that smile stays on the Thai ace's face during tournaments.
"When I missed that birdie putt on the 11th hole during the Manulife event, Pete walked up and asked if I have heard the song Let It Go from the animation movie Frozen? That brought the smile back to my face," she said.
The Jutanugarn sisters may have become household names in Thailand and elsewhere, but they refuse to rest on their laurels, always on the lookout for ways and means to improve their game and keep pace with the others.
Their eyes are firmly fixed on the future and on their careers. They have dedicated their lives to golf and all those childish altercations over desserts, ice creams and TV series are there to only add spice to an otherwise arduous adventure.
Meanwhile, Ariya, Moriya and Naruemol returned to Bangkok from the US yesterday.
Ariya claimed three season honours -- the player of the year award, the money list winner and Race to CME Globe title which came with a US$1 million bonus.
Ariya said she would take a one-month break and would play less next season to avoid injury.