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'Really cool': Aussie golfer's 'life-changing' $1.4 million payday

Andrew Reid
·4-min read
Pictured here, Hannah Green celebrates with her huge LPGA Tour bonus.
Aussie Hannah Green has more than one million reasons to smile after her huge LPGA Tour bonus. Pic: Getty

Australian golf star Hannah Green says she has her heart set on buying a home after a "life-changing" win on the LPGA Tour.

The Australian Olympian scored the biggest payday of her career after landing a $US1 million ($A1.4 million) bonus for winning the season-long AON Risk Reward Challenge on the women's professional circuit.

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Green sealed the deal on the weekend without even picking up a club after leading the tour's "strategy and decision-making" contest for much of the year.

The 24-year-old West Australian's attacking prowess and ability to maximise opportunities on the carefully-selected holes used at each LPGA event propelled her to 29 under par for the challenge.

The 2019 major winner birdied 72 per cent of the designated holes and eagled almost 10 per cent of them to blow away her peers, including American world No.1 Nelly Korda and Korean Jin Young Ko, who are fighting out Player of the Year honours.

"I try to be aggressive when I'm on the golf course," Green said on Wednesday.

"I feel like that's where I can show that side of me and to be able to have the opportunity to showcase it every week was really cool.

"It was just something I really wanted to win. I mean, I would always read the fact sheet to see what hole it was and always tried to make sure that I got a practise round on that hole."

Green's approach is set to pay dividends, with the Aussie revealing the generous winners' cheque finally gives her an opportunity to buy a home in Australia.

"It's something that I guess players don't really think about at the start of the year," Green said of the big prize.

"But coming down to the crunch I was nervous. It's definitely such a life-changing thing for us players. Just gives me a little bit of comfort when I come back out to play each season.

"So I'm very grateful. I haven't even made that much money over two seasons. Yeah, it's still not quite sunk in yet."

Hannah Green looking into buying a property in Perth

Green admits she's now eyeing the Perth property market armed with her newfound cash windfall.

"The market is a crazy in Australia. Every time I look online every house that I like is under offer within two or three days," said the 24-year-old world No.26.

"It is quite difficult to buy houses in Australia, especially as a sports person with the not-frequent income, and as well as foreign income.

Pictured right, Australia's Hannah Green claims her trophy for winning the LPGA Tour's season-long bonus.
Australia's Hannah Green is now more than one million dollars richer after taking out the LPGA Tour's season-long bonus. Pic: Getty (Michael Reaves via Getty Images)

"So when I return to Australia, after I have done the hotel quarantine, I'll be looking.

"I actually wanted to buy a house during the off-season, so this gives me an opportunity to actually play comfortably.

"It will be life-changing. I could almost pay my house off and not have a mortgage, so it's setting me up for after I finish playing golf."

Winning the $A1.4 million bonus has also boosted Green's confidence ahead of the LPGA's season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship, starting in Florida on Thursday.

"Definitely. I even had a good result last year here at CME. Finished tied for second," she said.

Green joins fellow Australians and WA mates Minjee Lee and Su Oh in the elite 60-player field, with the world's best vying for the $US1.5 million winner's cheque.

with AAP

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