Hannah Green collects her first win with her husband, Jarryd Felton, on her bag.
KATE MCSHANE, GETTY IMAGES
Beware Hannah Green when she has a 54-hole lead.
Sharing it with her good friend and fellow Australian Minjee Lee in the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore, Green closed Sunday with a round of 3-under-par 69 at Sentosa Golf Club to secure a winning total of 14-under 274, one stroke ahead of American Auston Kim.
It was the fifth time the 29-year-old Green had led or co-led heading into the final round of an LPGA event, and it was her fourth successful conversion of the opportunity.
It might be a small sample, but it is also an exceptional record, one that suggests an element of golfing ruthlessness that is at odds with Green’s amiable persona. Perhaps being deadly in the heat of battle and cheery in demeanour are not mutually exclusive.
The victory was Green’s seventh on the LPGA but the first with her husband Jarryd Felton, himself a professional golfer, on the bag.
Asked if the new working relationship had proved tricky – because other than the odd round 10 years ago it was only the second time he has carried her bag – Green said after the third round: “It’s been good so far because I’ve been playing well. It would be a problem if I wasn’t playing well.”
In the final round that situation didn’t change. One birdie and an eagle to the turn put her in a position of strength and, although she swapped three birdies and three bogeys on the way home, she negotiated the victory in relatively comfortable style.
That, at least, was how it looked from outside the ropes.
In reality, Green confessed to being a little shaky.
“I honestly felt really nervous out there,” she said. “I was talking to [Jarryd] and saying that I didn’t know why I was feeling that way. He said take a deep breath or just have something to eat or have a sip of water. I also just acknowledged that I was feeling nervous and made sure that I wasn’t too calm and not motivated enough.”
The ability to think clearly under stress is probably the key to Green’s success when in contention.
“She’s cool, she’s calm and she’s collected,” said a proud Felton. “It was wonderful to watch her going about her craft.”
Green, who also won the tournament in 2024, acknowledged: “I’m far more emotional because I was able to [win] with my husband.”
The arrangement is not full-time. Her regular caddie, Canadian Nate Blasko, is in the United States completing paperwork for his green card, Green said, and is expected back on the bag as soon as he has it.
Lee closed with 72 and ended the week in a share of third alongside Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (France) and Angel Yin (USA), the trio finishing three shots back of the winner.
Matt Cooper
