Hannah Green bagged her fourth title of 2026 at the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship, but there was playoff heartbreak for Mount Lawley clubmate Kirsten Rudgeley in South Africa.
The JM Eagle LA Championship has been a happy hunting ground for Green in the past, with back-to-back wins in 2023 and 2024.
A 2026 repeat seemed unlikely, however, as Green found herself six shots behind leader Sei Young Kim with just seven holes of the championship remaining at El Caballero Country Club.
However, a birdie at the 11th hole was followed by four in a row from the 13th as Green piled pressure on her Korean opponent.
Kim dropped a shot on 17 to fall into a share of the lead with Green and fellow Korean Jin Hee Im, and when none of the three could conjure up a birdie finish, the championship went to a playoff.
There, 29-year-old Green displayed more of the poise that has defined her season so far, as she fired a superb approach and holed a clutch birdie putt from 18 feet to take the title on the first extra hole.
The victory was Green’s 8th career win on the LPGA Tour and her fourth win in just five starts in 2026, her other titles coming at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in February, and the Australian Open and Australian WPGA Championship in March.
She has risen to fifth place in the world rankings and will go into the first LPGA Major of the year, next week’s Chevron Championship in Texas, amongst the favourites.
Another near-miss for Rudgeley
While there was playoff glory for Green, there was more heartbreak for WA’s Kirsten Rudgeley on the Ladies European Tour (LET).
A runner-up three times on the LET, Rudgeley’s latest near miss came cruelly as the Joburg Ladies Open took five extra holes to be decided.
Rudgeley had seven birdies in her closing round of 67 to finish tied with local hope Casandra Alexander and France’s Agathe Laisne at 19-under par.
Kirsten Rudgeley lost her second career playoff on the Ladies European Tour
The trio returned to the par-5 18th hole at Randpark Golf Club, where Alexander was eliminated on the first playoff hole.
Rudgeley missed a gilt-edged chance to secure her maiden LET title on the third extra hole when a six-foot birdie putt slid by the edge, and the pair shared birdies as they replayed the 18th for the fourth time.
With darkness setting in, the 18th was shortened to a 78-yard pitch. Both players hit to around six feet, but Rudgeley was unable to match Laisne’s confident birdie, and her wait for a breakthrough tour title goes on.
Keep up with the latest WA golf news via the GolfWA news section and our Facebook and Insta accounts. You can also subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter here.
