In-form West Australian Hannah Green has conceded that the 72-hole nerves got the better of her as she finished runner-up to Hyo Joo Kim at the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.
As she battled to remain in contention despite not having her best stuff on Sunday, a hole-out eagle from 64 metres at the par-4 14th propelled Green into a share of the lead and with momentum to go on and record her third LPGA Tour title.
A birdie at the par-5 16th gave the 24-year-old a one-stroke advantage but consecutive bogeys brought about by two three-putts paved the way for Kim to record her fourth LPGA Tour win and first since 2016.
Tied for third at the LA Open the week prior, Green will edge closer to the top 10 when the Rolex Women’s World Rankings are updated and with the self-belief that her best golf will be good enough to win sooner rather than later.
“I don’t want to sound obnoxious, but it is nice I’m not playing my best and getting these results,” said Green, whose closing 69 was run down by Kim’s 8-under 64.
“I feel like my driver was a little bit off this week, so if I can get that into gear, I feel like I can be up on top again.
“I didn’t really feel like I was in it until I holed the shot on 14. That was a nice way to get my momentum.
“Made a really good putt on 16 to make birdie but obviously pretty disappointed to have two three-putts finishing.
“Felt a little nerves on the last, which is nice, because I guess having the spectators out there it kind of meant something to me.
“I’m obviously very close, I just hope that I can continue this momentum and who knows, have a good result next week (in Thailand).”
Kiwi Lydia Ko was also in contention heading into the final round but was unable to mount a Sunday surge while Green’s fellow Aussies Su Oh, Minjee Lee and Katherine Kirk all closed with rounds of even-par 72 to finish inside the top 30.
Despite battling a self-diagnosed bout of “man-flu” all week Queensland’s Scott Hend delivered his best result of the year and his 18th career top-10 finish on the European Tour at the Tenerife Open in Spain.
Rounds of 66-64 gave the 47-year-old the honour of being the oldest player to make the cut and in contention for a fourth European Tour title at the halfway mark but a third round of 71 saw Hend fall back into the pack.
He bounced back in the final round with a closing 4-under 67 to climb from a tie for 15th into a tie for eighth, his best result since winning the Maybank Championship in Malaysia in March 2019.
Harrison Endycott’s strong start to the year has continued with a top-15 finish at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Huntsville Championship while Melbourne’s Julienne Soo recorded the best result of her young career on the Symetra Tour, tied for eighth at the Garden City Charity Classic in Kansas.
LPGA Tour
HSBC Women’s World Championship
Sentosa Golf Club (Tanjong Cse), Sentosa, Singapore
2 Hannah Green 71-66-66-69—272 $US149,262
T7 Lydia Ko 69-68-69-71—277 $39,022
T24 Minjee Lee 69-73-70-72—284 $15,323
T24 Su Oh 68-72-72-72—284 $15,323
T28 Katherine Kirk 69-71-73-72—285 $12,351
PGA TOUR
Valspar Championship
Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead Cse), Palm Harbor, Florida
T21 Danny Lee 70-67-70-72—279 $US65,291
MC Tim Wilkinson 71-71—142
MC Aaron Baddeley 72-71—143
MC Cameron Davis 74-72—146
MC Cameron Percy 74-72—146
MC Rhein Gibson 72-76—148
European Tour
Tenerife Open
Golf Costa Adeje, Tenerife, Spain
T8 Scott Hend 66-64-71-67—268 €29,957
T42 Maverick Antcliff 66-69-69-70—274 €8,290
T75 Jake McLeod 68-69-71-75—283 €3,014
Japan Golf Tour
The Crowns
Nagoya Golf Club (Wago Cse), Aichi
T49 Anthony Quayle 68-71-73—212 ¥208,800
T49 Michael Hendry 71-70-71—212 ¥208,800
T61 Dylan Perry 75-68-73—216 ¥171,750
T64 David Bransdon 70-73-74—217 ¥167,250
MC Adam Bland 74-71—145
MC Matthew Griffin 69-76—145
MC Todd Sinnott 73-72—145
MC Brad Kennedy 74-72—146
Korn Ferry Tour
Huntsville Championship
The Ledges Golf Club, Huntsville, Alabama
T13 Harrison Endycott 70-66-69-67—272 $US11,500
T21 Nick Voke 71-65-71-67—274 $5,498
MC Mark Hensby 68-72—140
MC Brett Drewitt 68-72—140
MC Curtis Luck 70-71—141
MC Jamie Arnold 71-70—141
MC Brett Coletta 72-70—142
KPGA Tour
KPGA Gunsan CC Open
Gunsan Country Club (Lake Cse), Gunsan, South Korea
T25 Junseok Lee 74-71-71-71—287 K3,937,500
T43 Kevin Chun 73-72-73-73—291 K2,440,000
WD Wonjoon Lee
Challenge Tour
Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open
Royal Cape GC, Cape Town, South Africa
T36 Daniel Hillier 67-69-71-76—283 €1,434
MC Deyen Lawson 74-73—147
Symetra Tour
Garden City Charity Classic
Buffalo Dunes Golf Club, Garden City, Kansas
T8 Julienne Soo 72-71-74—217 $US3,621
T48 Robyn Choi 75-74-75—224 $780
MC Soo Jin Lee 74-76—150
MC Stephanie Na 72-78—150
MC Hira Naveed 75-77—152
Champions Tour
Insperity Invitational
The Woodlands CC, The Woodlands, Texas
T20 Rod Pampling 69-73—142
T45 David McKenzie 70-75—145
T56 John Senden 76-71—147