Green and Golden girls: Aussie women on top of the world
Every grey cloud has a silver lining and that couldn’t be truer today.
After a devastating Matildas loss early on Sunday morning, Australian women’s sport has had arguably its greatest ever day.
Fresh off winning the French Open, Ash Barty has gone on to claim victory at the pre-Wimbledon event in Birmingham and the world-number-one ranking.
The 23-year-old is the first Australian woman to become the world’s best since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976.
— Ash Barty (@ashbar96) June 23, 2019
And if that wasn’t great enough, young golfer Hannah Green has become just the third Australian woman ever to win a major golf championship.
The 22-year-old from Perth held her nerve to win the Women’s PGA Championship by one shot in Minneapolis.
Ranked 114th in the world, Green was being mentored by Australia’s last major champion, Karrie Webb in 2006, as she shocked the all-star field, leading from start to finish in the tournament.
The victory earns Green more than $830,000, a guaranteed spot on the LPGA Tour for the next two years.
An unforgettable moment 🏆@hannahgreengolf gets up and down from the sand to complete her wire-to-wire win of the @KPMGWomensPGA! pic.twitter.com/ob51nBwgEm
— LPGA (@LPGA) June 23, 2019
And to top things off, Aussie surfer Sally Fitzgibbons has won her first event since 2017 to re-take the world-number-one ranking.
The 28-year-old beat Carissa Moore in the final of the World Surf League’s Rio Pro in Brazil.
Congratulations @Sally_Fitz, winner of the 2019 #OiRioPro and the new @Jeep leader! 🏆@oi_oficial pic.twitter.com/pRfQzKFxS6
— World Surf League (@wsl) June 23, 2019