Melanie Green has always loved a good underdog story, though she realizes she might no longer qualify as one. Last summer the small-town New Yorker became the first American in 28 years to win the Women’s British Amateur and now, midway through her first year as a pro, she’s the hottest player on the Epson Tour.
“The way she carried herself on the golf course, it was palpably different than her fellow competitors,” said former University of South Florida coach Erika Brennan on recruiting Green. “There was an edge to her; there was a want. You could see the fire.”
Nick Semuta caddied for Green in her first tournament now a decade ago. Too shy to play team sports, the athletic Green turned down her dad’s numerous invitations to play in any golf tournaments until age 13, when she routed the field at Locust Hill Country Club.
“She just kind of marched around the golf course,” said Semuta, “really confidently and in command.”
Green, 23, wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school, entertaining other offers from Delaware and Virginia Tech. South Florida offered a chance for her to “catch up” to peers who had grown up in warm-weather climates.
At USF, Green played the No. 1 position as a freshman and quickly began rewriting the history books in Tampa. As a senior, she won twice and became the first player in program history to win AAC Women’s Golf Player of the Year honors. Green shot 74 in the first round of the first tournament of her senior year and never shot worse than par the rest of way, finishing with a 69.73 scoring average.
“MG is really the person that put the program on the map,” said Brennan, who has since become head coach at the University of Georgia.
Folks in Medina, New York, population 6,035 (2010 census), say the same.
Her father, a retired corrections officer, got a job pumping gas on an Indian reservation because mom still has a few more years left before she can retire from the post office. When asked to describe her hometown, Green said there’s one school, it seems like a dozen churches, a few gas stations and maybe four lights.
She learned the game at Shelridge Country Club, where the fairways were often brown and the greens were firm and fast. As someone trying to get better, Green loved it.
Semuta only sees Green a handful of times each year these days but that’s nothing new. They do most of their work using FaceTime. Ball-striking is her specialty but Semuta said he’s never seen anyone aim the putter better.
“I think putting is a strength,” he said, “whether she thinks so or not.”
Green has four top-six finishes in her last five starts on the Epson Tour, including a breakthrough victory at the Island Resort Championship, where she stormed from behind with a closing 65. Former college teammate and best friend Leonor Medeiros is on the bag this summer as she waits to start the MBA program at USF in the fall.
Green currently leads the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card points list, which more than midway through the season, means the rookie is on the fast track to an LPGA card.
When Green talks about her time in college, much of the growth she experienced extended well beyond the game.
Simply put: She found the Lord.
“I got saved in my car,” said Green, who prayed with older sister Tiffany after she came down to Tampa to attend a women’s conference at The River Church.
In time, Green became a regular there and during her last semester of college, felt called to attend the church’s River University.
“There was one day where I was really feeling under the anointing – the world calls them instincts,” said Green. “You have this thing where nobody is going to tell you otherwise.”
After Green won the British Amateur at Portmarnock in Ireland in late June, carrying her bag the whole week, she then helped Team USA win the Arnold Palmer Cup in Lahinch in early July.
Back home, as her Curtis Cup gear arrived in the mail, a business administrator at the Bible school said it looked like she was chasing two different things. As Green began to fast and pray about it, she received a call from the church’s head pastor – Rodney Howard-Browne – whom she’d never met. He’d watched her win the British Am on television and wanted her to stay the course on both paths.
“I was willing to give it up because I wanted to go to Bible school,” said Green.
But the pastor told her that she could take her time with the courses and still keep playing golf for Jesus.
“Kind of like what Scottie (Scheffler) does,” said Green.
On the road, Green listens to recordings of her classes and takes exams online. She’s behind everyone else in her class but gets “a lot of grace.”
When people hear about Bible school, Green is often asked if she has plans to preach or lead a church when golf is done.
“I don’t need to be a pastor to go out and tell someone ‘Hey God loves you, and has a plan for your life,” said Green.
“As of right now, golf is my ministry.”
And word is beginning to spread.
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