Hannah Green, the only other player to win multiple times on the LPGA this season, almost defeated Nelly Korda at Liberty National.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Hannah Green put up one incredible fight, throwing the first punch toward Nelly Korda on the very first hole with a birdie.
But after trading blows with the world number one all day, Green came up just short at Liberty National. She bogeyed the 18th hole while Korda made par, giving Korda her sixth title of the season and a one-shot victory.
“To lose to Nelly is—it’s sad, but then it’s also Nelly Korda,” Green said afterward.
“She’s obviously so dominant right now. To finish second behind her is quite nice. Unfortunately, the bogey on the last has a little bit of a sour taste, but I still competed out there.”
Green pulled her drive left of the fairway on 18, which sealed her fate. She then tried to hoist it up and onto the green, but the rough tugged her clubface into the turf, forcing her ball to settle short and left of the putting surface.
She could not get up and down from there.
Korda, meanwhile, found the fairway, hit a pitching wedge onto the front of the green, and two-putted for par.
“To make bogey on 18 does suck,” Green admitted.
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Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
“But I still have to think about all the shots that I hit really well today and all the putts that kept the momentum and kept me in there.”
Green made some massive putts, with none bigger than her par save at the par-4 9th. That kept her momentum intact, an important moment after she made a sloppy bogey on the hole before, the par-5 8th.
“That really changed the momentum for then me to make some birdies on the back nine,” Green said of her par save on the 9th.
“I just needed to make sure that I didn’t necessarily look ahead, but make sure that I’m slowing down perhaps and making sure that I know there are nine holes or however many holes there are. Like there was a lot of golf left.”
The Aussie bounced back emphatically on the back nine, matching Korda’s birdies on the 10th, 13th, and 15th holes, the latter of which she called her favorite moment of the day.
It turned into match-play too, as the rest of the field struggled to catch the final pairing.
“I wasn’t really sure what it was going to be like, especially once I realized it was kind of just between us,” Green said of her pairing with Korda.
“I didn’t see any of the leaderboards. And then my caddie said it was pretty much between us, so, yeah, it was enjoyable playing with Nelly and matching her and making birdies. So, yeah, hopefully, I can take this form for the next stretch of events and get one of those trophies.”
The LPGA has a week off before descending upon Central Pennsylvania for the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club on May 30.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
