LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Hannah Green defends her title and wins the JM Eagle LA Championship. For the third year in a row, Green finished in the top two at the Wilshire Country Club.
After a slow start, Green finished strong to be able to win by three strokes over Maja Stark from Sweden.
Green became the first LPGA tour player to win twice at the Wilshire Country Club. She will have to wait till 2026 to play and win again at the club as it will be going through renovations later this year.
Green began the day with a share of the lead with her fellow Aussie Grace Kim. It was a mediocre start for Green as after nine holes she was even. With 2 players only 1 shot away from the lead, Green began her push for the win.
Making an incredible chip-in birdie in the 12-hole changed the rest of the momentum for Green.
“Yeah, the chip-in, I think that was the big momentum. I felt like Grace and I weren’t really holing any putts,” Green said. “Not that I was really giving myself many opportunities to make birdie on the front nine, but I felt like that wasn’t always the scorable nine. It was always the back nine. Yeah, I didn’t hit a great shot.”
“I think I got really lucky to even be in that position and not be in the bunker, because I don’t think I would’ve made up and down had it been in the bunker. Would’ve been quite a tough short-sided shot. Yeah, when that went in it definitely switched the momentum,” she added.
Green then had a birdie in 13, a par on 14, and put the championship in the bag with a huge eagle on the 15 hole. She had a 3-shot lead by the end of the 16th hole with a -12. Stark had already finished the round and all Green had to do was not shoot a 3 over in the last two shots.
“When I made eagle on 15 that kind of sealed the deal. I did see Maja got it to 9-under so I know what I needed to do. Usually, I make it really tricky on myself and only win by a shot. Really grateful I’ve now been able to step off and win by a few,” said Green after her victory.
With this win, Green moved up six spots in the 2024 Race to CME Globe Rankings. She is now ranked number three. She also joins Nelly Korda (5) as the only player with multiple victories on tour this year.
Stark had a great day and finished with a score of 68 in the final round. She was able to put some pressure on Green but fell short at the end.
“I was telling myself to just go for it and not hold back, but it’s easier said than done. But, yeah, I didn’t feel like I was as bad today as yesterday in the front nine, but still some work to do,” said Stark.
Kim who was making it look easy for the first two rounds and was the leader for the first three rounds just could not find her groove the last two rounds. After being -12 and a four-shot lead by the end of round two, she finished with a -1 and tied in 25th when it was all set and done. Even with disappointing final days, she was the first to celebrate her friend’s win as she ran and gave Green a big hug as soon as the final putt went in.
Green goes home with a $562,500 winner’s check as she crosses the $5 million mark in career earnings. Next for Green is to see if she or any other LPGA player can stop Korda from winning six in a row.
