Major Green champion joins superstars
Australia's newest great golf champion and two of & # 39; the world's most exciting young players have committed to playing the 2020 ISPS HANDA Women & # 39; s Australian Open at Royal Adelaide in February.
Hannah Green from Perth, United States title defender Nelly Korda and Australia's top female golfer, Minjee Lee, plays it all on one of Australia's best courses from February 13 to 16 and joins a cluster of & # 39; s the world's best players in the South Australian capital.
Green returns triumphantly to Australia from a wonderful foreign campaign in 2019, with the aim of fulfilling her dream of winning her own national golf Open.
The 22-year-old from the Mt Lawley club in Perth stunned the golf world in June this year as she led from start to finish at the KPMG LPGA Championship, one of the five majors for women, in Hazeltine in Minnesota.
Her one-shot victory was the first major of an Australian woman since Karrie Webb's big win in 2006 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and she only became the third Australian woman ever to win a major – behind Webb and Jan Stephenson.
Green, who graduated from Golf Western Australia's elite amateur programs & # 39; s and Golf Australia's Karrie Webb Scholarship, climbed into the top 20 in the world ranking with her remarkable win.
She promptly won another LPGA Tour tournament, the Cambia Portland Classic, in August, to emphasize that with a prize pool of over $ 1 million this year, she is only a potential superstar in her second season on the world's largest tour of the sport.
"It has always been my dream to win my home Open," says Green, who is number 18 in the world.
"That's why I'm so happy to return to Royal Adelaide in 2020. We're lucky enough to play on such a great song with a really strong field and the chance to win a national title "
Groen came close to winning the Open earlier. In four earlier starts as a teenage amateur in 2016, she finished 20th, 7th, third in Kooyonga in 2018 and 10th in The Grange this year.
"Winning a major has changed my life a little, but I am very hungry to keep on competing and winning and getting the best out of myself, and I don't need extra motivation at an event like a Home Open."
Korda, 21, repeated the performance of her older sister Jessica by winning the Open at The Grange in February this year, and has continued to climb the world ranking to number 8. Meanwhile, ISPS HANDA Ambassador Lee, 23, is number 7 , after winning in Los Angeles in early 2019, scaling the heights to number 2, so close to the first Australian woman to reach number 1.
Lee, who just like Green came through the elite programs & # 39; s of Golf Western Australia and the Karrie Webb Scholarship Squad, has won five times on the LPGA Tour, but still has to triumph in an ISPS HANDA Women & # 39; s Australian Open and in the same way has a deep desire for the Daphne Akhurst trophy.
Midori Miyazaki, executive director of ISPS HANDA, said: "ISPS HANDA welcomes the news of Hannah Green's return to Adelaide together with our own ambassador, Minjee Lee and title defender, Nelly Korda. We believe that sport has the power to and Hannah has been a good example of this with her big champion victory this year, players like Hannah, Minjee and Nelly inspire enormous growth in the ladies game, and ISPS HANDA is proud to have played a role in that expansion through the long-lasting Partnership with the Women & # 39; s Australian Open. "
Stephen Pitt, CEO of Golf Australia, said that the most important triumph of Green was the biggest highlight of 2019 from an Australian golf perspective. "Of course we have known for a while that Hannah was a special person and a good player," he said.
“But it was incredible to do what she did on Hazeltine those four days this year. We always love having her in Australia to play the Women & # 39; s Australian Open, and we will be happy to welcome her back to Royal Adelaide with the introduction on the tee of "our own great champion". "
South Australian Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister David Ridgway said the ISPS HANDA Women & # 39; s Australian produced world-class fields and breathtaking golf and complemented the growing list of major sporting events in the state during the summer.
"Having Hannah Green at home for the first time as a big champion becomes something very special, both for Hannah and for the fans of Royal Adelaide in February," said Ridgway Minister.
"To then see the brilliant Minjee Lee who is also trying to win back her home Open and Nelly Korda in Adelaide, where she was so spectacular this year, only shows the quality of the field that is put together year after year."
Tickets are officially for sale through Ticketek and remain some of the best sports value at $ 25 ($ 19 concession) per day, or $ 75 ($ 57 concession) for a four-day season pass when pre-booked. Children under 16 are free.
The tournament is fully sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and the ALPG.
The ISPS HANDA Women & # 39; s Australian Open is supported by the South Australian government through events in South Australia.
