It’s been a minute since Australian Hannah Green has won on the LPGA Tour. Her last victory came at the 2019 Cambia Portland Classic – a season that also saw her capture her first major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship that June. Since that win in Oregon, she’s carded eight other top-10s, four of which saw her finish in the top five, and most recently, Green became the first woman to win a co-ed golf tournament at the TPS Murray River as part of the Australia Webex Players Series in February, besting amateur Hayden Hopewell and Andrew Evans by four shots. Through three rounds at this week’s DIO Implant LA Open and after a 2-under 69, Green has a shot at a third LPGA Tour title, sitting in solo second at -7, four behind Japan’s Nasa Hataoka.
“I feel like pretty much ever since I came back out to play this year that my ball-striking has been really consistent which is nice because I feel like last year I improved but it was kind of up and down,” said Green who hit 15 of 18 greens and 13 of 14 fairways on Moving Day. “It's nice that I'm hitting a lot of greens. I'm not necessarily always hitting it close, but I feel like here the greens are small so you kind of got a good opportunity. But it was a little bit annoying today. I had a lot of in-between clubs, but finally come the back nine I had some better shots in, so that's why I was able to make some birdies.”
The last time Green was in contention in Australia, she held the lead through all four rounds. Though she’s in a different position on Sunday at Wilshire Country Club than she was a few months ago, the Aussie will continue to draw positive energy from her experience in February as she looks to chase down Hataoka and her four-shot lead. And if the result is a positive one, rest assured that Cobram saw Green’s first and last celebratory shoey. For now anyway.
“It definitely helps with the nerves coming down the stretch,” she said. “I've definitely felt the nerves when I was in Australia because I was trying to win my first tournament on home soil so hopefully I can use that experience from February to get me across the line tomorrow. These shoes are like six weeks old, and I said at Cobram that's the last one I'll do. Maybe if I won a major championship, but I mean, LA, is a great event, but I'll leave that to Dan Ricciardo to do.”
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