Hannah Green and Minjee Lee, both Australians and both major winners, are two of a kind who lead the field on 11 under par going into the fourth round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa. They lie one ahead of America’s Angel Yin and Korea’s Haeran Ryu, with a whole lot of others poised on eight or seven under and no doubt thinking that they could yet make off with the trophy.
The leaders may or may not know it, but they are perfect examples of the advice handed out by Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott from the Vision54 team who work on the mind game as much as the shot-making side of things. They long ago discovered that the calm approach works well for them while appreciating that others, like Charley Hull, do better to stick with a more energetic approach.
Where their putts tend to finish pin high if not in the hole, Angel Yin can hit putts which are in danger of getting a speeding ticket. There are occasions when they crash into the cup and others when they charge well past the target. Long hitter though she is, this animated soul bogeyed both the par fives on the inward half while making for exciting watching all the way.
Minjee summed up the course to perfection. “I felt like it was playing a little trickier today for some reason — maybe the pin placements were tougher. I know a few of the tees were moved forward but it just felt that they were a little bit harder than the last two days.
“So I think that’s what a great championship should be like anyways.”
Asked how she was going to prepare for the final round, she said she was not sure whether she would put in much practice, “because I’m melting away right now.”
Meantime, she feels she has benefited from having the longest break in her 12 years on tour.
Green, who finished with three successive birdies when she won here 2024, had three birdies in a row from the eleventh in her third round, and Minjee four in five holes from the 13th. Others, including Haeran Ryu, were not handling the closing holes with the same degree of confidence. Ryu, though everyone thought her ball had stopped short in heavy rough, was in the water at the short 17th and ended up with a double bogey and a 70 on a day when she had enjoyed a spell in the No 1 spot.
There were a few things she wanted to straighten out when she came off the course — her driving, her iron-play and her neck which, for some reason, has been painful from the start of the week. However, she likes the idea of being one behind rather than one in front…
“I’m just more in a strong place,” she said.
Green, in guessing what to expect in the fourth round, predicted that the course was going to be set up “so that we do not shoot really low scores.”
When asked if it helped having her husband on the bag – it is not something that happens very often – she said that it helps her to stay patient. “Staying patient is probably the hardest thing when you’re out here. I guess it is good having him to kind of bounce off, especially with him being a golfer. He knows what it’s like”
Minjee, for her part, has a brother in Min Woo who is a winner on the PGA tour. He, too, will be lending support via his phone on a day when one great Aussie takes on another.
