Green, the first Bull to earn the award, earned All-Conference honors for the fourth time.
Tampa, Fla.,April 24, 2024 –University of South Florida senior Melanie Green, a three-time conference player of the week in the Spring, was named the American Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Player of the Year. The award is voted on by the conference’s 12 women’s golf head coaches.
Green was also named to the All-Conference Team for the fourth time in her four years at USF. She is the first USF player named American Player of the Year and is the first Bull to earn All-Conference honors in golf four times.
“I’m super grateful for all the opportunities USF has given me to have the success that I have had.”, said Green. “I absolutely love the school I play for and the people in this community! I just want to give a huge shoutout and thank you to my coaches and teammates for everything they do for me every single day! They will forever be a part of my life and I’m so honored to be a part of this team!”
Green, ranked 21st nationally, posted two individual wins and led the Bulls to three wins on the season. She swept the league’s Fall awards, as she was named the AAC Women’s Player of the Month in September and October. Green has been selected to represent Team USA the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup and competed in the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“MG earned this with her relentless work ethic and pursuit to better her craft.”, said Coach Erika Brennan. “She is a workhorse that won’t just outwork you but work smarter than you too. She’s resilient and it’s incredible to see her get recognized by The American as the best player in the league. For those that know her well, however, it’s also easy to see that her golf game is the second-best thing about her. Who she is as a person is the real prize and it’s an honor to be one of her coaches.”
In the 2023-24 season Green, has finished in the top 10 in nine of the 10 tournaments and in the top four in eight events. She has shot par or better in 29 of 30 rounds.
With her win at the Mountain View Collegiate, Green became the sixth player in program history with two or more wins in a season and the first since Natalia Villavicencio in 2018-19. Christina Miller in 2011-12 won three times, the program record.
With Green leading the way, South Florida has finished in the top four, with three wins, in nine of 10 events in the 2023-24 season, including a third-place finish in the American Athletic Conference Championship, which ties for the highest finish in the tournament in program history.
At the Westbrook Invitational, Green tied her career-best and program-record 54-hole score of 205 (-11). Her stellar play helped pace the Bulls to a new program record for low round, shooting a 271 (-17) and a low 54-hole total 836 (-28), while matching the program record for a 36-hole score (565). USF’s previous 54-hole record was 852 set last season.
The senior tallied her second collegiate win to open the Spring as she helped lead South Florida to its second team win of the season at the FAU Paradise Invitational in early February to earn AAC Player of the Week recognition.
Green has picked up this season where she left off after a record-breaking season in 2022-23 in which she was named a WGCA All-American Honorable Mention. A three-time AAC All-Conference Team member, Green owns multiple program records, including season scoring average (71.03), low round relative to par (-8), and career scoring average (72.13 entering the 2023-24 season).
Individually in October, she posted two top-five finishes. She finished third in the Dale McNamara Invitational and second in the Hurricane Invitational. In the two tournaments, she was a combined 18 under par.
In September, she posted two top-five finishes in USF’s first two tournaments of the season. Green finished tied for second in the Glass City Invitational and tied for fourth in the Badger Invitational.
About USF Women’s Golf
The 2023-24 campaign will be the Bulls’ sixth full season under head coach Erika Brennan. South Florida is among the fastest-rising programs in the country, as they climbed 75 spots in the national Golfstat rankings following Brennan’s first season in 2018-19 and have captured five tournament titles under Brennan, while setting numerous program scoring records under her leadership. Senior standout Melanie Green has been an all-conference performer in each of her first three seasons, qualified for the 2022 NCAA Regional as an individual and was named a 2023 All-American Honorable Mention. Green and the Bulls reached the NCAA Regional as a team in 2023, marking the program’s first postseason appearance in 11 years.
Follow @USFWGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.
– #GoBulls –
