Three-time LPGA Tour winner Hannah Green is in the hunt with 18 holes to play at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, carding a 5-under 67 on Moving Day at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course to sit two back of the lead in solo second at 8-under.
Starting the day in a tie for ninth at 3-under, Green grabbed her first birdie of the day on the par-4 2nd hole before picking up another on the par-4 6th hole to move to 5-under overall. She made one last front-nine birdie on the par-5 8th hole to turn in 33 at 6-under, but Green dropped a shot early on the back nine, stumbling with a bogey on the par-4 11th hole.
The Australian quickly erased her mistake with a birdie on 12, rattling off three straight pars and then making another birdie on the par-5 16th hole to sit at 7-under overall with two holes to go. She parred 17 and recorded one last birdie on the par-4 18th hole to post her second consecutive 67 in Singapore.
It’s the first time that Green has posted back-to-back rounds of 67 or better since the 2023 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G last September when she opened with a pair of 65s on Friday and Saturday at Pinnacle Country Club. While she did manage to record six birdies in the third round at the Tanjong Course, Green gave a lot of credit to her short game and course management as the reasons for her solid performance on Saturday, one that has now given her an opportunity to capture her fourth career LPGA Tour victory on Sunday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
“I felt good again. I didn't really hit many greens again today or fairways, but I managed to miss it in the right areas to give myself the best chance to make par,” said Green, who hit 7 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens on day three. “I knew I needed to make pars on certain holes and probably not be as aggressive, and then when I have wedges in my hand, try to go for the pin. My caddie and I did a really good job of that today. It can be tough. Even though I shot 5-under, it still felt like a lot of work compared to yesterday. I put myself in good position for tomorrow.”
This week in Singapore marks Green’s fourth start in the HSBC Women’s World Championship, and in her three previous appearances, she has never finished worse than T20, earning two T6 or better results in 2021, when she finished solo second, and in 2022, when she finished in a tie for sixth. This is Green’s second LPGA Tour start of 2024, and she came to Singapore fresh off a T54 result in her season debut at the Honda LPGA Thailand last week.
It was a bit of an extended offseason for the Aussie, but her extra time spent away from the game was chock full of off-the-course activities. Green married her now husband Jarryd Felton on January 19th and the pair purchased a house together, one that they had only just moved into before Green left for Thailand.
“Most things are organized,” said Green. “Actually, next week, I’m not playing Blue Bay so I’ll be back in Perth for a couple of weeks before I go so it’ll be nice to properly enjoy the new place. It's been a really nice couple of months. It’s been really nice to be at home and see my friends and family because when I leave for America in March, I’m not sure I’ll be back until maybe September, so it's been really nice to be back.”
The HSBC Women’s World Championship trophy would make a nice housewarming gift for the newlywed, and considering she’s only two shots out of the lead through 54 holes, the Aussie has more than a good chance to take home her fourth LPGA Tour title tomorrow at Sentosa Golf Club. But with more inclement weather in the forecast, Green is just hoping she gets a shot to chase down Furue on Sunday in Singapore and that storms don’t derail the final round.
“With how unpredictable tomorrow's weather might be, hopefully we get all 18 in,” said Green, who hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour since the 2023 JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. “I just hope that we have a nice 18-hole round, and there's no 54-hole tournament.”
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