LOS ANGELES – Hannah Green won the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship for the second year in a row on Sunday, scoring two goals from outside the greens in a back nine at challenging Wilshire Country Club.
A year after making a 25-foot birdie on the final hole of regulation and winning on the second hole of a playoff, Green – with help from Maja Stark – rode out the late drama of this for her fifth LPGA Tour victory and second of the year.
“It’s very kind to me,” Green said of the course. “I felt like a few times today it was almost like a limb popped out. I obviously really like the golf club and joked that they didn’t approve with me that they were making changes. I love it here.
Green closed with a 5-under 66 to beat Stark by three strokes. The 27-year-old Australian, also a winner earlier last month in Singapore, finished at 12-under 272 on the tree-lined course with poa annua greens that get hilly late in the day.
Green started the main race with a chip-in birdie at the par-3 12th and made a 6-foot birdie putt at the par-5 13th. Then, after Stark confused the par-4 16th with two groups ahead, Green ran in a race of 25 feet to eagle from the bank on 15 to open a four-stroke lead, and was 5 under through five holes with a birdie on 16.
“When I got 12, I felt like I really got one there,” Green said. “I really like the 13th hole and I also played the 15th really well. When I made eagle on the 15th, that kind of sealed the deal. I saw Maja get to 9 under so I knew what I needed to do. Normally, I make things very complicated for myself and only win by one shot.”
Stark finished with a 68, recovering from bogey on 16 to make birdie on the final two holes. The 24-year-old Swede also finished second last week outside Houston at the Chevron Championship, two strokes behind top-ranked Nelly Korda in the first major of the year.
“I’m really proud of the way I played,” Stark said. “I feel like I hit a lot of good shots and I feel like my nerves took over for a while, but I was always able to get back to normal – my normal mental state.”
Haeran Ryu (69) was third at 6 under, followed by fellow South Korean players Jin Young Ko (67) and Jin Hee Im (72) at 5 under.
Grace Kim, four shots ahead on the weekend after opening rounds of 64 and 66 and tied with Green for the lead after a third round of 76, finished with a 77 to tie for 25th at 1 under. She has failed to make a birdie in the last two days.
Korda withdrew from the Los Angeles event on Monday, a day after his fifth consecutive victory.
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