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‘One of the best years of my career’: LPGA star awarded Aussie golf’s top gong for second time

‘One of the best years of my career’: LPGA star awarded Aussie golf’s top gong for second time

Hannah Green has been recognised for her stellar three-win season on the LPGA Tour by being crowned the Greg Norman Medallist for the second time.

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Green was announced as this year’s winner of Australian golf’s top honour at the PGA Awards Gala Dinner ahead of the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane on Tuesday evening.

The 27-year-old has enjoyed the best season of her career as she climbed to a career-high world ranking of number five courtesy of triumphs at HSBC Women’s World Championship in Thailand, the JM Eagle LA Championship and the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea.

Green can add further to her tally at the LPGA’s season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship in Florida this week, before returning home to take part in the Australian Open in Melbourne next week.

The West Australian was unable to attend the ceremony as a result but addressed the room with an acceptance speech via video.

“It has undoubtedly been one of the best years of my career and to cap it with a second Greg Norman Medal makes it all the more special,” Green said.

“Any year in which you have a win is a good year so to have three in the one season is very satisfying – and I’d love to finish off with another one at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open next week.

PAJU, SOUTH KOREA – OCTOBER 20: Hannah Green of Australia poses with the trophy after winning the tournament following the final round of the BMW Ladies Championship 2024 at Seowon Hills Country Club on October 20, 2024 in Paju, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

“I would like to thank everyone in my team, my husband Jarryd, my family and friends for their support this year.

“I feel like I have taken a major step forward in 2024 and hope that I can finish off the year well and take that into 2025 and beyond.”

Green first won the medal named for the two-time British Open champion and former world number one Norman in 2019 when she became a major champion at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

She is the first Australian since seven-time major winner Karrie Webb in 2006 to notch up three victories on women’s golf’s premier tour in a season.

She also broke the stranglehold Minjee Lee and Cameron Smith have had on the award with the pair splitting it twice each in the last four years.

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Green’s medal was accepted by her coach Ritchie Smith – who received an accolade of his own by winning PGA National Coach of the Year – High Performance.

Smith his built an impressive stable of talent in Perth with the Lee siblings – Minjee and Min Woo – also pupils of his which means he coached three-quarters of Australian Olympic golf team from the Paris Games earlier this year.

Highly talented New Zealander Kuzuma Kobori won PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year for his Order of Merit winning season which included three victories and handed him a DP World Tour card.

LPGA Tour-bound Cassie Porter was named WPGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year for the first time.