Not only did Hannah Green pick up her first major championship – and first LPGA victory – at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship but she’s now also in the mix for the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award. The 60 points she earned at Hazeltine National moved Green into a tie for second place with Jin Young Ko, 10 points behind leader Jeongeun Lee6.
To win the award you not only need the most points but you also have to win one of the five LPGA major championships. And with two majors left – the Evian Championship and the AIG Women’s British Open – there are still a lot of points up for grabs.
Lexi Thompson is in fourth place with 42 points followed by So Yeon Ryu, who has 26 points, and then Mi Hyang Lee, Sung Hyun Park and Angel Yin all with 24 points and Danielle Kang with 22 points.
“Congratulations to Hannah for winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in wire-to-wire fashion,” Annika Sorenstam, the 10-time major champion for whom the RAMA is named.
“It’s great how she worked with Karrie Webb and is now the third Australian woman to win a major,” said Sorenstam. “It will also move her way up the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award list.”
This award has quickly established itself as a key component in evaluating a player’s career. So far, no one has won the RAMA twice, with Ariya Jutanugarn, Lydia Ko, Inbee Park, Michelle Wie and Ryu claiming the title first awarded in 2014. But a victory in one of the two remaining majors would give Ryu a chance to be the first repeat winner.
“I am very proud to have this award with Rolex and the LPGA,” Sorenstam said. The RAMA extends a decades-long relationship between Rolex and the LPGA, adding it to the Rolex Player of the Year, Rolex Rookie of the Year and Rolex Rankings.
“Rolex began its association with women’s golf in 1980,” said Arnaud Boetsch, Director of Communication and Image for Rolex. “The establishment of the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award aligns perfectly with our philosophy of rewarding exceptional achievement.”
The way Green stood up under final-round pressure from an elite field on a difficult golf course was certainly an exceptional achievement. In a month at Evian we will see if someone else will join the party in the race for the RAMA.
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