Perth’s Hannah Green hopes to write history this week by becoming the inaugural winner of the Australian Ladies Classic – Bonville, a co-sanctioned tournament on the ALPG and Ladies European Tours.
The 21-year-old LPGA Tour rookie has started her season strongly with a tie for 11th in the Pure Silk Bahamas Classic, followed by a tie for third in the Oates Vic Open and outright third in the Women’s Australian Open on Sunday.
She will have an unprecedented opportunity to become the first winner of the Australian Ladies Classic, which takes place over four rounds from Thursday, at Bonville Golf Resort in Coffs Harbour in New South Wales and feels ready to step up to the challenge.
She said: “I’m really pleased with how things are going this year and I’m feeling good coming into this week. I’ve played some of my best golf over the last three weeks, so I’m in my best form, and hopefully, I can do well.”
With veteran Karrie Webb only playing a reduced, part-time schedule this year, Green is amongst the next generation of exciting Australian talent stepping up in 2018.
A former Karrie Webb scholarship holder, Green would love to carry the flag for the Australian Ladies Classic, as Webb did for the ANZ Ladies Masters, which she won eight times at Royal Pines Resort between 1998 and 2013.
“Any win in Australia would be awesome, and I don’t see why it can’t be here,” said Green, a three-time winner on the 2017 Symetra Tour. “I’ve won a couple of Pro-Ams, but I still don’t technically count them as a win, so another big tournament would be really nice.”
Green played in the last group with the eventual winner Jin Young Ko at Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide on Sunday, where the fans were chanting her name on the first tee. She feels that the experience will stand her in good stead as she makes her first appearance at Bonville Golf Resort in Coffs Harbour this week.
She said: “It’s a really good course and it’s quite difficult in some ways because there are lots of dog-legs and uphill and downhill slopes. I think it will be a really good week. I’m not really sure how the scoring will go, but I’m excited to see how it all turns out. I’ve been part of a couple of inaugural amateur events and that was really cool, so I hope that this event continues to grow. It’s just great that they’ve decided to have an event here to showcase Bonville and Coffs Harbour.”
The assembled players looking to challenge Green for the title will include Dame Laura Davies, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Christina Kim, Caroline Hedwall and Holly Clyburn, as well as home-grown talents Rebecca Artis and Sarah Kemp.
Green continued: “Obviously anyone can win, but it’s nice for Christina to be here and to come up to Coffs Harbour. There are lots of players who can contend, but it’s nice to be playing another LET event.”