Hannah Green Feels Right at Home in Los Angeles; Pledges to Support LA Fire Relief and Recovery
LOS ANGELES - Hannah Green feels at home in Los Angeles, and it’s easy to see how the Australian golfer has that comfort. It’s not just that she’s won the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro back-to-back years, but that sure helps. It’s the people, of course, and that’s why she wants to use the tournament to help, just like organizers.
The 28-year-old Green was so impacted by the recent fires that devastated the Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Altadena communities that recently at the JM Eagle LA Championship media day at El Caballero Country Club, she pledged $1,000 per eagle for the upcoming LPGA event and $500 per birdie to go toward LA fire relief funds. Her hope is her fellow LPGA Tour players will join in the cause.
Green announced this at the JM Eagle LA Championship media day at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, Calif. Los Angeles fans, who were chanting her name as she strolled down the 18th fairway last year, will be rooting even more for birdies and a three-peat.
“I've had so much support when I'm here in California,” Green said. “People are so lovely to me, and I really do enjoy being here. I love the food. I love the weather, like I'm sure everyone - that's why people live here, right? It's been an honor to be a champion of this tournament, and Walter and Shirley (Wang) do so many things for us and probably a lot of things that we don't even realize as players. We just see the purses and the hotels, but all the things behind closed doors, I can't imagine what it's like. I think we're grateful for their partnership, and they certainly have paved a way for the rest of the tournaments, and obviously even in the community with their donations.”
Green, who is seeking her third consecutive title in the event, will need to win at a different course since Wilshire Country Club - where the tournament is usually held - is under renovation.
Green is no stranger to fires in her home country, either. Fortunately, she hasn’t been personally affected but she’s seen the devastation. That’s why she’s helping the efforts, here.
The impact is visible.
Just outside the country club, there were two trucks from Los Angeles Fire Dept. Station 93. Los Angeles Police Department officers were there as well. They’ll be back in a couple of weeks, too.
The JM Eagle LA Championship is April 17-20.
All first responders and military members and their families will receive complimentary admission to the event as well as access to the SERVPRO Hero Outpost. Mo Martin - who grew up in Altadena (site of the Eaton Fire) and played at UCLA, shared her family’s emotional story of losing their home. Martin won the Women’s British Open in 2014, and that trophy was at her mom Linda’s house. The R&A is replacing that trophy and it’s in transit. She and her family have leaned on the graciousness and support of the golf community.
“National news moved on, but the rebuild has not,” Martin said. “We still have so much ahead of us. A lot of the fire victims, and also the families of the people who lost their lives…there's a lot of emotions still left to process, so that's still happening.
Again, just very fortunate that this tournament is happening, the donations are still here, and that's it coming to mind again because there's still so much work to be done.”
Martin thanked the first responders and gave a standing ovation to them for their work in the community. She knows first-hand the incredible challenges they faced.
Walter and Shirley Wang, CEOs of JM Eagle and Plastpro, are passionate about leading the way in the recovery efforts and combining that with the tournament.
“This fire is just horrific,” said Walter Wang. “I see pictures, I see videos and all the homes burned down. Some of the things can be replaced. Some of the things cannot be replaced. It's not as simple as saying, ‘it's just material things.’ No, some of the things just cannot be replaced.
“I talked to my wife, I said, ‘We have to do something about this’ Walter continued. So, what is the immediate need? … The fire department needed a new bulldozer, so we did that. The fire department needs a machine to make sandbags. So we did that, too. Then, we want to help the firemen and women who lost their homes to rebuild. So we did that. There is so much more to do.”
Chris Stine, president of the LA Firemen’s Relief Association, is working to help men and women who were not only fighting these tragic fires but also needing assistance as well.
“What makes a big difference is, Walter and Shirley, as generous as they are, their donation has a direct effect on firefighters, making things a little bit easier for them to navigate,” Stine said. “Most of us in the room, both fire and our partners with LAPD, LA County Sheriffs, who also had significant loss as well, we signed up to do this.
“We show up to work every day and this is what we love, but it's so much easier when you have partners in the community like Walter and Shirley to connect that circle, and make things a little better for us.”
The Wangs have donated $1.5 million to the fire relief efforts and will donate another $5 million towards the recovery efforts. They live and work in Los Angeles, so helping elevate this golf tournament as well as aid the recovery efforts was easy. The Wangs have elevated the tournament via the purse as well. The first year they doubled the purse in 2023 from $1.5 to $3 million and now, the purse is $3.75 million – one of the largest purses on the LPGA Tour.
And of course, there was some fun.
Annika Sorenstam made a video that was played for Green, and she had this message.
“The last time the LPGA Tour was at El Cab (for the Office Depot Championship), was back in 2004,” Sorenstam said. “I won my 50th event, so I really remember that one. Hannah, good luck in going after your three-peat. Just know that technically, I’m the current two-time defending champion at El Cab. Just kidding.”
UCLA senior Caroline Canales, who grew up and lives in nearby Calabasas, as announced as a sponsor exemption, competing in her first-ever LPGA Tour event on a sponsor exemption. She is genuinely excited to tee it up against the world’s best and kickstart her professional career in her hometown event.
“I am very excited to be able to make my LPGA Tour debut in my hometown at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro,” said Canales. “It has been my dream to play against the best players in the world on the LPGA Tour, and I can’t thank Walter and Shirley Wang enough for giving me the opportunity to compete as a sponsor exemption.”
She will join a world-class international field of 144 that features major champions, past champions as well as current and former world No. 1 players at El Caballero Country Club.
