USA TODAY International Edition
A MAJOR 1ST WIN
Australian Hannah Green captures the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, for her first victory on the LPGA tour, holding off defending champion Sung Hyun Park of South Korea by one shot Sunday
CHASKA, Minn. – From a young age, LPGA Hall of Famer Karrie Webb took note of Hannah Green’s mental strength. Green’s level temperament, Webb said, was built for a major championship stage.
Webb knew early on what the rest of the world found out in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, where long shot Green led wire-to-wire to become the third Australian to win an LPGA major, joining Webb (seven) and Jan Stephenson (three).
Green is a gamer.
“I’m pretty much speechless,” she said through tears Sunday. Ranked 114th in the world at the start of the week, the LPGA sophomore was playing in only her seventh major championship.
As 2018 KPMG winner Sung Hyun Park charged, Green rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the demanding par-4 16th to extend her lead to two strokes. The tournament went from potential blowout, when Green’s lead ballooned to four, to shootout, when eight players were within three shots with four holes to play. Green, 22, rattled off three bogeys in the middle of her round, but she didn’t panic.
Not even when she dumped her approach into a greenside bunker on the 72nd hole and had to drain a 6-foot par putt to avoid a playoff. Green finished one shot ahead of Park. Mel Reid and Nelly Korda tied for third, three back.
“I really didn’t want to play that hole again,” said Green, who understandably battled strong nerves the last five holes.
Webb missed the cut at Hazeltine National but came back out to walk the fairways with Green, a two-time winner of Webb’s namesake scholarship.
The first time Green ever attended a professional event was the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open, courtesy of Webb. The Aussie legend invites rising stars to stay with her during a major so they get an all-access, inside look at what it takes to be successful at the next level.
Saturday night, Webb prepared an Aussie BBQ at the house she shared with Green, Su Oh and two current scholarship recipients, Grace Kim and Becky Kay, who accessorized their costumes Sunday with an Aussie flag cape, thick headband and fake mustache. Webb’s menu of Aussie rissole and beef short rib, along with plenty of laughter, provided a relaxed evening for Green before the biggest round of her life. Webb heard Green tell the media earlier that she’d gotten lucky: She holed a shot from the bunker and a 60-yard pitch from the rough. Luck is part of every win, Webb told her. Embrace it, don’t be embarrassed by it.
Green battled a nasty, cold rain without waterproof gear in the opening round. She doesn’t own rain paints — they’re too noisy and baggy — and her boyfriend, touring pro Jarryd Felton, had to run to the house to get her jacket. The staff brought towels.
Green was a long way from Perth, but it felt like she had plenty of support in the Midwest. She even put together a 2,000-piece puzzle with her housemates.
Every part of Green’s week at Hazeltine added up to a perfect fit.