LPGA star Hannah Green has underlined her commitment to future-proof the sport by making a significant donation to the Australian Golf Foundation Junior Girls Scholarship program
World number 24 Hannah Green made the five-figure donation as part of her participation in Golf Australia’s Give Back program, under which successful professional players return a portion of their earnings from the sport to help fund High Performance programs and – in this case – participation initiatives.
Green joins Minjee Lee, Lucas Herbert and Cameron Smith of the top Australian players who have made contributions so far under Give Back, which is a world-first initiative.
The Perth professional, winner of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2019 and one of a handful of Australian women to have secured a golf major, specifically asked that half of her first contribution to Give Back be donated to the Australian Golf Foundation scholarship fund, which began in 2021 as a way to encourage more girls to play golf.
Money split between AGF and High Performance programs
Half of her ongoing contributions in following years will also go to the AGF scholarship fund, with the remaining half donated to High Performance programs run by Golf Australia.
Green has been a strong supporter of the scholarship, which has seen almost 2000 scholarships granted to girls across the country in the first three years of the program and a target of a further 1200 in 2024.
“I am a big believer in the value of the AGF scholarships, and I wanted to help out now that I have the opportunity,” said Green today.
“As a touring professional and someone who’s made a living from golf, I can see the benefits that the sport brings to people at all levels of the game.
“I’ve also had contact with a lot of these scholarship girls over the past year or so and I can see up-close how much they are getting out of it.
“I’m excited to be involved going forward in anything that promotes girls’ participation in the sport that I love.”
Promoting girls' participation in golf
AGF Executive Director Cameron Wade was delighted with Green’s gesture.
“Hannah Green is not only a brilliant golfer but she is an outstanding contributor to the sport more broadly and a wonderful role model,” said Wade today.
“Hannah has been willing to help with the girls scholarship-holders by way of sitting in on Zoom calls with them, and the mentoring that she has done while she’s playing on tour overseas.
“Girls’ participation is a passion of Hannah’s, quite clearly, and it’s very gratifying to see that.
“The AGF scholarships have been a tremendous success in promoting girls’ participation in the sport and breaking down stereotypes about golf. Hannah’s contribution is enormous within that context.”
Brad James, Golf Australia’s General Manager High Performance, praised Green for her commitment to Give Back.
“Hannah is a great ambassador for our sport and this is another example of her selflessness and her view of the big picture of golf,” he said.
“We love what she brings to the table not just as an elite player but as a person who is dedicated to making the sport better.
“The additional funding that our Give Back program provides allows us to deliver advantages to our best athletes. It helps us to provide international competition, camps, coaching and service provision in a best-practice scenario. It makes Team Australia better and stronger in a very competitive, international sport.”
Find out more about the Australian Golf Foundation here.