Major winner Hannah Green has posted her first professional victory on home soil in grand style, claiming the Vic Open by six strokes.
The 25-year-old West Australian had some nervous moments early in her final round on a hot and windy Sunday at 13th Beach as her five-shot overnight lead was trimmed to just two.
But Green showed her class on the back nine of the Beach Course, draining three birdies to finish with a one-under 71 for a total of 13-under 276.
Her final-round playing partners Karis Davidson (72) and Whitney Hillier (72) tied for second on seven under, with LPGA Tour regular Su Oh and Cassie Porter in equal fourth at five under.
Three years ago, Green became only the third Australian woman to win a major when she saluted at the PGA Championship.
She backed that up later in the year with her second LPGA Tour victory at the Portland Classic.
But until Sunday, the missing piece of the puzzle was a four-round professional title in Australia.
"The Vic Open was my first ever professional event so it definitely has special memories for me coming here; some pretty random memories, but good memories," she said.
"This is just a stepping stone and will give me some positive vibes for when we do get our Australian Open back.
"We only get the opportunity a couple of times a year.
"Unfortunately I don't get to play too many WPGA tournaments any more so it's great that we're getting some more events on the calendar and hopefully they can fit on my schedule from here onwards.
"It's nice to finally have my name on a proper trophy over here."
Green cleared away from Davidson and Hillier with final-round birdies on the 12th and 14th holes, and then made victory pretty much a formality with another birdie at the par-3 17th.
"I knew that I wasn't playing so well on the back nine but I knew there were some opportunities and I managed to hit some good shots coming in and capitalise and make some good putts," she said.
"I felt really nervous, even with a six-shot lead coming down the last hole."
Australian Soo Jin Lee produced easily the best final round on Sunday, signing for a seven-under 65 when no other player in the field was able to break 70 to rocket up the leaderboard into a tie for seventh.
