HANNAH GREEN HANGS ON, WINS PLAYOFF AT JM EAGLE LA CHAMPIONSHIP

As the sun set at Wilshire Country Club, it was Australia’s Hannah Green hoisting the trophy in the shadow of the Hollywood Sign, once again a winner on the LPGA Tour after surviving a gritty three-hole playoff. Green began the day at -7 and two back of 54-hole leader Cheyenne Knight and made 14 consecutive pars to open the final round. She finally broke through on the par-5 15th with a birdie to move to -8, two back of then-leader Ruoning Yin, who had blitzed her way to the top with six birdies on the card. Yin ultimately faltered, bogeying the last two holes to post at -8 alongside Ayaka Furue, and all of a sudden Green was in a five-way tie for the lead with Yin, Furue, 36-hole leader Aditi Ashok and Xiyu Lin. Lin and Ashok came to the 18th both needing a birdie to post the new clubhouse benchmark, and both came up clutch, sticking their tee shots inside 10 feet and burying their birdie putts to finish tied at -9 overall.

As the penultimate group made their way to the last, Green needed a birdie to get to -9 and into the playoff, and after a ho-hum tee shot, the 26-year-old drained a lengthy birdie putt, sending herself, Lin and Ashok back to the 18th tee. Ashok bowed out early, hitting it to approximately 15ft and missing the birdie putt while Green and Lin stuck their tee shots inside 10ft, both making their short birdie putts. On the second playoff hole, Lin’s tee shot found the bunker and she splashed it out to nearly the same spot Green putted from in regulation. Advantage to Green, whose tee shot comfortably found the putting surface. Green cozied her birdie putt to within two feet, and after Lin missed her putt for par, it was an easy cleanup for the Aussie, who earned her third career LPGA Tour title and first since the 2019 Portland Classic.

“I said the first one was important, obviously a major championship. I said the second one was nearly just as big because then I proved to everyone and myself that I could back it up. But I think honestly this one is really important because I feel like this is just going to kick start remembering learning to win,” said Green, who captured her major title at the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. “It's tough to win golf tournaments. Sometimes you can play your best golf and it not be good enough. You've just got to hang in there. I think this is honestly just as big as the first two.”

Green has finished inside the top five in her previous two appearances at Wilshire Country Club, coming up just short here last year to 2022 DIO Implant LA Open champion Nasa Hataoka. While winning is sweet, finally getting it done at this venue made it even more so for Green. “The members have been amazing to me here,” said Green, who was the only player to post all four rounds in the 60s. “It's such a special place, to play here in LA and have so many people come out. I'm really excited to come back and defend and hopefully keep putting my name on the trophy.” 

Ashok and Lin both earned their best results of the 2023 season with their runner-up finishes, with Lin taking home her fourth second place in her last 26 starts. Furue and Yin ended up in a tie for fourth at -8 with Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda, rookie Hae Ran Ryu and LPGA Tour winner Knight tied for seventh at -7. Thailand’s Jaravee Boonchant and UCLA alum Alison Lee round out the top 10, tied for ninth at -6 overall.

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