03 Mar 2024 | Professional golf |
Green clinches fourth LPGA Tour win in Singapore
by Tony Webeck
Hannah Green has become just the fifth Australian to win five times on the LPGA Tour thanks to a stunning finish to the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
Trailing Japan’s Ayaka Furue by two at the start of Sunday’s final round at Sentosa Golf Club, Green spent much of the day playing second fiddle to France’s Celine Boutier.
When Boutier made a fifth birdie of the day in her bogey-free round of 5-under 67, she held a two-stroke lead with just three holes to play.
But, summoning the steely resolve that yielded a shock major win in 2019 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Green’s aggressive approach paid off.
Watch golf live and on-demand on Kayo
Taking full advantage of a forward tee at the par-5 16th, Green reached the green in two and two-putted for birdie to draw within one.
The 27-year-old hit wedge into the par-4 17th and holed a 20-footer to join Boutier at 12-under and then brought the fans in the grandstand to their feet with a 40-foot curling birdie putt on the final hole to seal a one-stroke win.
Green now joins an illustrious group that includes Karrie Webb, Jan Stephenson, Minjee Lee and Rachel Hetherington as Aussies with at least four wins on the LPGA Tour.
The nature of her finish will also help wipe away any demons that may have been lurking from her runner-up finish at Sentosa in 2021 when she three-putted each of the final two holes.
“It feels great to have this trophy in my hands,” said Green.
“I didn’t hit it as good as I have in previous years, but I think I felt confident over some putts.
“I had a lot of testing putts on the front nine for par because I was either leaving it way too short or crushing it past the hole.
“It was nice to be confident on those putts because those are the ones you expect to make.
“The putt on the last, you don’t expect to make those all the time.”
Although her career resume is now among the very best Australian women to ever play the game, Green is philosophical about the realities of winning regularly at the highest level.
With a strong team around her, her recent marriage to Jarryd Felton and a growing presence of Aussie players on the LPGA Tour, Green gives the impression she is settling into what may prove to be the most productive years of her career.
“Even though I’ve had four wins on the LPGA – I think this is now my 11th worldwide – there are so many hard moments in golf,” said Green.
“You have to take these highs when they come because it doesn’t always come and golf can be a learning sport sometimes.
“I feel that’s what I’ve been about the last couple years, about having the right people around to support me.
“There’s so many of us Aussies on tour now. It’s nice that we get to travel together and have dinner, just have good friendship while we are out playing because some weeks can be better than others, for sure.”
Ranked No.29 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking at the start of the week, Green’s latest win will go a along way to securing a second Olympic berth at Paris in August.
Join our newsletter
Get weekly updates on news, golf tips and access to partner promotions.