Melanie Green fights back to win British Women’s Amateur

Melanie Green fights back to win the British Women’s Amateur

Melanie Green (royal and ancient photo)

Melanie Green of the United States had a dream debut at the 121st Women’s Amateur Championship. She won by two holes against Scotland’s Lorna McClymont after an epic final in Portmarnock.

The 22-year-old continued her new love for links golf after coming back from a four-hole deficit after eight holes to win the 36-hole match on a rainy day in Ireland.

McClymont, 23, had a one-hole lead with three holes to go, but Green showed remarkable resilience by battling back again, clinching his success with a 22-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

Green becomes the first American to win the prestigious title since Kelli Kuehne at Royal Liverpool in 1996.

The University of South Florida graduate’s win now secures spots in the fields for the Amundi Evian Championship and AIG Women’s Open later this summer and the Chevron Championship and U.S. Women’s Open in 2025. Green, who is ranked 53rd in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), will also traditionally receive an invitation to participate in next year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Green, who will also be invited to play in an event on the Ladies’ European Tour, joins a list of Women’s Amateur Champions that includes Babe Zaharias, Catriona Matthew, Carlota Ciganda, Anna Nordqvist, Georgia Hall, Céline Boutier and Leona Maguire .

In the tough conditions Milngavie’s McClymont, caddied by her mother Gail, was quickest and Green’s bogey on the 3rd gave the Scot an early lead. The American then could not escape the thick rough on the 5th and was forced to abandon the hole. Green, who opted not to caddie, continued to struggle with the weather and trailed by three holes on the 6th after McClymont’s first birdie of the final. Green’s bogey on the 8th left her four holes behind and in real trouble before a stirring comeback.

A birdie on the 9th after a superb approach saw Green really get fired up and despite the persistent rain she suddenly warmed to the task. While Green remained steady, McClymont, a University of Stirling scientist, made four holes in a row from the 11th and lost three as the Final suddenly returned to all squares after 14. McClymont struggled on 16, allowing Green to complete her recovery and take the lead for the first time, a lead she held until the lunch break.

Green, a member of the US team for next week’s Arnold Palmer Cup in Lahinch, moved two holes ahead when her opponent’s tee shot reached a penalty area on the 21st. They traded blows over the next two holes before McClymont’s bogey at the par-5 24th dropped her to three holes behind.

McClymont, 131st on WAGR® and a two-time winner of the R&A Student Tour Series Order of Merit, rallied with a winning par at the short 25th and only her second birdie of the day at the 28th to move back to just one behind. Green had chances to extend the lead, notably missing a short putt at the par-5 31st, before the Scot pulled clear with a superb five-foot approach at the 32nd.

McClymont rolled into the next hole from 15 feet for back-to-back birdies to get ahead, but Green answered right away with her birdie on the long 34th as the crowd was treated to a great finish. When the sun finally came out, McClymont made bogey on the 35th before Green made the decisive birdie.

A world-class field of 144 players battled it out on the famous links north of Dublin from the start of the week, representing 35 countries, including no fewer than 21 players in the top 50 of the WAGR® and four in the top ten.

Green also added her name to the list of illustrious winners who have triumphed at various championships in Portmarnock, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and José María Olazábal.

The Women’s Amateur Championship has only been played once before in Portmarnock, 93 years ago in 1931, and the venue last hosted the Amateur Championship in 2019, when home player James Sugrue emerged victorious.