Melanie Green may have grown up in the small town of Medina, N.Y., but she always knew deep down that she was destined for golf greatness.

Melanie was the No. 1 recruit in 2020 from New York when she signed with the University of South Florida in November 2019, her sights set on putting a storied program back on the map. During her collegiate career, she broke countless USF records, most notably becoming the first AAC Women’s Golf Player of the Year to come out of the school’s program.

Melanie was a standout athlete individually, but her leadership on and off the golf course helped her team reach NCAA Regionals in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024, their first showing since 2012.

Collegiate golf is both an individual and team sport at the same time, but Melanie didn’t know what to expect when leaving her community in Tampa, Fla., after she signed up to compete in the 2024 LPGA Qualifying -Series. She went into Pre-Qualifying as the 23rd-ranked amateur in the country and was full of confidence coming off her historic senior season, but Green quickly realized she needed to step up her game if she wanted to compete against the next group of potential LPGA stars.

Melanie breezed through the Pre-Qualifying and Qualifying stages, finishing T3 in the latter that October, but she struggled after the first two rounds of Final Qualifying. The USF graduate climbed up the leaderboard, posting three under-par rounds in a row, but she ultimately fell short of securing her LPGA Tour card for the 2025 season by four strokes.

Having secured Epson Tour status, the 23-year-old headed into her rookie season with an open mind and a desire to continue learning the ropes of professional golf. Melanie struggled during the beginning of the season, placing in the middle of the pack and even missing some cuts.

“When I made my debut, it was looking a little further than I would have liked it to,” Green said about the thought of obtaining her LPGA Tour card. “Obviously, going through Q-School and missing it just by a little bit, you have the normal human frustrations of like, ‘Dang, I was so close,’ but the more I was out here, the more I was like, 'You know what? This is good for me.'”

The 2025 rookie eventually found her groove at the Copper Rock Championship, where she finished in a tie for second, and hasn’t looked back since. Melanie has made 11 cuts in her 15 starts this season, a year-long performance that’s been highlighted by eight top-10 finishes. But the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur participant finally made her mark on the season after capturing her first professional title at the Island Resort Championship presented by Delta County Chamber and carding a 14-under tournament total.

At this point in the season, Green has realized, “The Epson Tour is a phenomenal stepping stone into the next stage of your career. I think I now look at it from more of a perspective that this was super important for my learning aspect of it. No, I didn't think it was going to happen this fast. Everybody wants to have a phenomenal LPGA career, but to have a phenomenal Epson Tour career as well is great to take you to the next step.”

Melanie is currently ranked first in the Race for the Card standings following the Four Winds Invitational and has mathematically clinched her LPGA Tour Card for the 2026 season. The New Yorker’s emotions were running high when, “Mr. (Jody) Brothers is coming up to you and saying, 'It was great to have you here, but you'll be going on to the LPGA next year.' It was awesome.”

The rising LPGA star feels, “very blessed and fortunate. And just to be a part of this journey is pretty surreal. To call yourself a professional golfer is great. You don't work for a living, basically. So I feel blessed, and I'm excited for all that has to follow.”

Melanie Green might not have known what to expect heading into her rookie season on the Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA, but she surprised herself in all of the best ways. She is grateful for having spent the season with a fellow USF teammate, Leonor Mederios, as her caddie to share the ups and downs that come with any golfer’s early career.

“It's not very common where best friends get to spend summers together, and more or less on a golf course,” Green said. “We're super fortunate, and really, just all thanks to God in letting it just happen this naturally, and really, we couldn't have drawn it up any better.”

Make sure to keep an eye out for one of the newest members of the LPGA Tour, especially as Green plans to play during the Florida swing of the 2026 season, one during which Green is excited to test her game against the best in the world with her “not blood” relatives, the family she’s created at USF, in attendance to cheer her on.

Melanie Green Secures LPGA Tour Card During Rookie Season on Epson Tour

Related Articles