Hannah Green on Success and Reuniting with Karrie Webb at the ShopRite LPGA Classic

By Alex Sumas

 

GALLOWAY, N.J. - Hannah Green is having quite the season. The 27-year-old Australian entered the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer today having already won at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. 

 

“This year hasn’t really been too different, I've just been able to piece things together a little bit more than perhaps other years,” said Green Thursday at Seaview. “I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but I also have a lot of events I'm looking forward to playing the rest of the season. So hopefully, I can continue the ride I'm on and see how far it lasts.” 

 

Green hasn’t competed at the ShopRite LPGA since 2021 due to scheduling conflicts.

 

Like many others, Green comes into this week off of the Mizuho Americas Open in NJ — where she finished second behind Nelly Korda — and the U.S. Women’s Open, where they faced tough conditions at Lancaster Country Club in Pa.

 

“It has been a while since I played here at Seaview, but it's a really nice course. It's a little bit shorter than what we probably play, and the scoring is typically very low, so making sure that going from a U.S. Open where pars are really good to then being aggressive and making birdies, I think that will be the toughest challenge for a lot of us that played at Lancaster,” she said. 

 

This week's event brings back to the tour one of the LPGA’s greatest influences on young players — fellow Australian and Hall-of-Famer Karrie Webb. The 2013 ShopRite LPGA Classic champion is returning for her first LPGA Tour event since 2022. 

 

Green was a recipient of The Karrie Webb Scholarship presented by Nippon Shaft in 2015 and 2016. Since 2008, the scholarship has awarded two amateur female Australian golfers with funding for international travel and playing experiences in the northern hemisphere. They also receive mentoring support from Webb for the duration of the scholarship. 

 

“[Green’s] first ever trip to the United States was to watch me play at Lancaster in 2015,” Webb recalled on Wednesday at Seaview. “I remember even the words she said when we first drove in on the first practice round day. She's come so far in not really that long a period of time. For me, it's just been really rewarding to watch her journey.”

 

For female Australian golfers, Webb's effect on the game can’t be understated. “She's always thinking about the next generation of golfers, and we definitely think that she's had an impact  — whether we've had her scholarship or not, she always tries to reach out and introduce herself to the next up-and-coming players,” said Green. “Hopefully, one day, when I do step away from professional golf I can have some sort of impact like she has.”

 

The ShopRite LPGA Classic is the perfect place for the two to reunite, as last year, the tournament eclipsed $40 million in charitable giving. “That's what we try to do when we come to communities and come to golf courses — try and inspire golfers but also get people to help support causes that they may not know about.”