The Move of the Week belongs to Hannah Green, who jumped 10 spots in the world rankings with her victory at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. She moved from No. 18 to No. 8 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, the highest rank of her career.
The Australian clinched her fifth win on Sunday at Wilshire Country Club, defeating Maja Stark by three strokes to successfully defend her title and secure her second victory of the season in Los Angeles, Calif. The victory helped her ultimately crack the top 10 in the Rolex Rankings for the first time in her career, and Green is well on her way to representing Australia at the Olympics for a second time, having first done so in Tokyo, where she finished in a tie for fifth.
"It's definitely been on my mind. Still have six or seven weeks until the team is announced, so still a lot that can happen between now and then,” said the Olympian. “Now that I've had two wins in the season, obviously this jumps me close to the Top 10 in the world and solidifies my spot.
“Grace (Kim) unfortunately didn't have the weekend she wanted, but I know she's capable of playing really good golf. Gabi Ruffels, Steph Kyriacou and Karis Davidson are all striving to be the best they can be. I don't want to assume I'm on the team. Still fighting for the second spot. Whatever I do between now and KPMG, I'm just going to try and play my best golf and hope to make that team."
At just 27 years old, Green has amassed 24 career top 10s, including five wins, and made over $5.3 million in career earnings since becoming an LPGA Tour member in 2018. So far this season, the Aussie is definitely moving in the right direction. She is ranked second in the Rolex Player of the Year race, third in the Race to the CME Globe standings (1,043.975 points), third in scoring average (69.950) and third on the Official Money List with $861,302 in season earnings.
Olympic Hopeful Maja Stark Makes Move in Rankings
Maja Stark fell short of capturing her second career LPGA Tour win at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro, but her runner-up finish moved her up 12 spots to No. 16 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Ranking and from fifth to fourth in the Race to the CME Globe standings.
With the 2024 Olympics on the horizon, most players want to play well and move up in the rankings in hopes of representing their country in Paris, and for the Swede, it's no different. She says she is not feeling a great deal of pressure, but Stark hears the chatter.
"There was a lot of talk about the Olympics in the media,” said Stark when asked if she was feeling any pressure after back-to-back runner-up performances. “I hadn't seen them talking much about the Olympics before Chevron, but then all of a sudden, it feels like people were saying that I was basically in it, which is really not the case. There is a long way left.
“I've just been trying to tell myself that if I focus on that, that's never going to work because all I can control is my own behaviors. Making it into the Olympics depends so much on what other people do. I have just been trying to put that back in my mind."
Stark has two additional top-10s this season, including a solo second at The Chevron Championship and a tie for third at the Ford Championship presented by KCC. She also ranks second on the Official Money List and is fourth in the Rolex Player of the Year standings.
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