Australian golfer Hannah Green has won the golfing LA Championships for the second year in a row.
Her stunning 12-under par victory on Sunday has helped her become the second woman to win a Ladies Professional Golfing Association (LPGA) tournament more than once in 2024, joining world number one Nelly Korda from the US.
The 27-year-old golfer from Western Australia came back in the final nine holes of the JM Eagle LA Championship at the Wilshire Golf Club in Los Angeles, USA. She scored 5-under 66 to finish three strokes ahead of second placed Maja Stark from Switzerland to claim the LPGA title.
It’s clear Green plays well on the course, telling reporters she loves playing on the LA green.
“It’s really kind to me. I love it here,” she said.
Last month, Green won her first LPGA Tour title of 2024 at the HSBC Women’s World Champions in Singapore. Now, she is eyeing off the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“To obviously already win in Singapore and then win here this week, I hope that I can get closer to my goal being in the top 10 in the world and solidify my spot in the Olympics,” Green said.
Green won the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and now has a total of five LPGA titles under her belt. She is the fifth Australian to win at least five LPGA titles, joining golfing legends Karrie Webb, Jan Stephenson, Minjee Lee and Rachel Hetherington.
Fellow Aussie golfer Grace Kim, 23, also competed in the LA championships on Sunday. Although she didn’t perform as well, she celebrated alongside Green as she accepted her trophy.
Pay gap in golf
As in most sports around the world, there is a significant gender pay gap in professional golf.
The JM Eagle LA Championship on Sunday had a purse of $3.75 million USD ($5.71 million AUD). For her victory, Hannah Green won $562,500 USD ($855,943 AUD).
A tournament for the men’s Professional Golfing Association (PGA) tour, the RBC Heritage, occurred just days before Green’s victory in LA. For this event, which took place in South Carolina, USA, there was a purse of $20 million USD ($30.43 million AUD).
Scotty Scheffler, American golfer and world number one, claimed the victory at the RBC Heritage. He was awarded $3.6 million USD ($5.48 million AUD) – almost as much as the entire purse of the LPGA event.