Women's PGA Championship 2019: Hannah Green Wins 1st Career Major Title
June 23, 2019
Hannah Green held off Sung Hyun Park on Sunday to win the 2019 KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
The Australian shot a 72 in Round 4 to finish nine strokes under par for the tournament. This kept her one shot ahead of Park in second place while completing the wire-to-wire victory at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.
Not only was this the first major victory of Green's career, it was the first title of any kind and only the third LPGA top-10 after turning pro in 2018.
Final Leaderboard
1. Hannah Green (-9)
2. Sung Hyun Park (-8)
T3. Mel Reid (-6)
T3. Nelly Korda (-6)
T5. Lizette Salas (-5)
T5. Danielle Kang (-5)
T7. Mirim Lee (-4)
T7. Hyo Joo Kim (-4)
T7. Inbee Park (-4)
Full results available at LPGA.com.
Although she saw a four-stroke lead drop down to one Sunday, Green came through when needed, including this clutch birdie putt on No. 16:
She needed a par to close things out on No. 18 and did just that with an up-and-down from the sand.
Green had been in control for most of the week and had a one-stroke lead going into Sunday, showing no fear out of the gate for the final round.
Ariya Jutanugarn figured to be the biggest competition Sunday, but the two-time major champion fell down the leaderboard with a score of 77 in Round 4.
Meanwhile, Green did her job as a pair of birdies on the front nine gave her as much as a four-stroke lead:
Even in the biggest moment of her career, she seemed incredibly confident. The 22-year-old even had time to interact with some fans in the middle of the round:
Unfortunately, the potential runaway turned into a nail-biter after three bogeys in a span of four holes cut the lead down to one.
Defending champion Sung Hyun Park was there to take advantage, sliding into second place with some impressive birdies:
The 18th-hole birdie put the pressure on Green by cutting the lead down to one, but she came through with a par to secure the victory.
Though Mel Reid had the best round of the day with a 66 to jump from 23rd to a tie for third, Green was the best golfer throughout the week to earn herself a major championship.
Some players will be right back in action next week at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, but the next few weeks will mostly be preparing for The Evian Championship in late July.