Hannah Green comes from behind to win in dramatic playoff at LPGA LA Championship

Australia’s Hannah Green won a three-way playoff against India’s Aditi Ashok and China’s Xiyu Lin after just barely getting there with a last minute birdie.

The leaderboard for the JM Eagle LA Championship on Sunday was a roller coaster affair with an ever-changing field that at one point featured five golfers closing in on the lead.

It looked like only two women were heading to the playoff when Aditi Shok and Xiyu Lin had closed out their play with matching 67’s. Then Hannah Green shot a stunning 25-foot putt on the par-three 18th hole to grab a down-to-the-wire birdie that propelled her into the final field to playoff for the title.

Hannah Green’s LPGA LA Championship win was as dramatic as possible

It was a phenomenal risk that made Green the last minute disruptor, a role she continued to the very end. Hannah Green and Xiyu Lin birdied the first playoff hole on the 18th, but only Green would make the par putt on the second round of the playoff 18th, winning in dramatic fashion for the first time since her victory on the LPGA Tour in September 2019, at the Portland Classic.

It was the third LPGA title for the 26-year-old, who collected $450,00 along with the trophy. Her first was the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA at Hazeltine, achieving the shock major in awesome fashion. If there’s one thing that can be said about Hannah Green, she sure loves the surprise win.

“It’s been a long few years,” Green said, emotionally, after winning in LA, according to ESPN. “I was playing well last year but getting across the line’s been really difficult. I’m proud of myself. I’m really happy.”

Cheyenne Knight began the day with a two-shot lead, but too many bogeys on the final day—especially a double on the 15th—allowed other golfers to overtake her, with the American player ending with a 2-over score and a 73, giving her a final tally of 7-under for the tournament, and tying her for sixth along with two others: Korea’s Hae-Ran Ryu and USA’s Nelly Korda, who shot a 67.

Ruoning Yin and Japan’s Ayaka Furue tied for fourth at 8-under. Both had made it a tense fight to the finish, almost making it a five-way playoff at one point.

It was an exciting nail-biter up until the very end, with Hannah Green coming up with the goods in the penultimate moments.

“I think honestly this one is really important because I feel like this is just going to kick start remembering how to — like learning to win,” Green said, via the LPGA. “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.”

Next up for the LPGA is the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown in San Francisco, CA beginning May 4.