Epson Tour golfer Melaine Green poses for a photo on hole No. 18 of Sweetgrass Golf Club on June 22, 2025 in Harris. Green won the 2025 Island Resort Championship, shooting -14 in the three-day event. (“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

HARRIS — Some like it hot. Some sweat when the heat is on. Some feel the heat and decide that they can’t go on.

By all accounts Melanie Green felt the heat all weekend long. But as she drained her final putt on Sunday to finish the weekend at -14 she couldn’t help but smile as she earned her first professional win, claiming the 2025 Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass Golf Club.

“I’m just grateful that this is the way that I live,” Green said. “The Lord has been really good to me, and I’ve been blessed with the people that are in my life. This is just kind of a bonus. But yeah, it’s awesome.”

Green played a total of 24 holes on Sunday, and Mother Nature was to blame. Severe thunderstorms rolled through the area first thing Saturday Morning, pushing back the start of round two by nearly five hours. Green finally teed off for her second round at around 6 p.m. and squeezed in 12 holes before play was suspended due to darkness.

And thanks to those severe storms a heat wave hit the Upper Peninsula. At its peak on Sunday temperatures hit 95 degrees. The heat index was as high as 109.

But for Green, who is billed from Medina, New York, the heat meant nothing. While her hometown may make you think of Tone Loc’s “Funky Cold Medina” she wore a long sleeve pullover throughout Sunday’s round. Maybe it helped that played collegiately at the University of South Florida, located in Tampa, where she currently resides.

Green’s Sunday began on hole No. 3 after starting her second round on the back nine. She went -1 through the six-hole stretch and entered her final round at -7, two strokes off of first place.

Thanks to birdies on holes 2, 5, and 9 she was -10 entering the back nine and primed to sit atop of the leaderboard the rest of the way. She carried that momentum into the final nine holes, earning birdies on 10 and 11 to sit at -12 under overall, a strong push for the lead, but not quite enough to put her over the top.

Epson Tour golfer Melaine Green hugs caddy Leo Medeiros after draining a putt on hole No. 18 of Sweetgrass Golf Club during the 2025 Island Resort Championship on June 22, 2025 in Harris. (“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

Then came hole No. 14.

At the beginning of the day Green and caddy Leo Medeiros, a former teammate at USF, knew that No. 14 was a hole that had to proceed with caution. It’s a par 4 which requires precision off the tee. Miss left and you’re either in trees or sand. Miss right at any point and you’ll find a stretch of sand that feels longer than most beaches.

But in that moment there was no talking things over. Medeiros wanted to stop, think things over and get an exact distance. Green disagreed. She wanted to go ahead and swing freely.

Green’s plan moved forward. She drove the green to set up a 25-foot eagle putt.

Green made the putt. And at the same time she made a statement. This was going to be the day that she was winning her first tournament as a professional, and no one was going to catch her.

And she refused to stalk the leaderboard.

“I had people in the house that (told me) ‘you’re teeing off at this time, you’re playing with these people’ and that’s it,” Green said. “They gave me the information I needed, and when I was around them it wasn’t about golf. That’s the kind of support you need.”

With the win on Sunday, Green, who entered 12th in the tour’s race for the card, also becomes the inaugural winner of the Pure Michigan Cup. New to the tour in 2025, this cup is given to the golfer who accumulates the most points in the Epson Tour’s three events in Michigan: the Firekeeper’s Casino Hotel Championship in Battle Creek, the Great Lakes Championship at the Highlands in Harbor Springs and the Island Resort Championship. Green missed the cut at the Firekeepers Casino Hotel Championship at +2 and finished tied for sixth at the Great Lakes Championship.

Epson Tour golfer Melaine Green cracks a smile while holding the Pure Michigan Cup on hole No. 18 of Sweetgrass Golf Club on June 22, 2025 in Harris. Green is the inaugural winner of the cup, given to the highest point scorer in the tour’s three events held in Michigan. (“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

“It’s really memorable,” Green said. “This is something I’m going to remember for a long time. Hopefully I can use this as kind of a trampoline.”

Riley Smyth, who won the Great Lakes Championship, finished second and Samantha Wagner, who won the Firekeepers Casino Hotel Championship, finished third.

Kate Smith-Stroh finished second in this weekend’s action at -12. She shot -8 (64) in the second round. Haylee Harford finished third at -11.

Amari Avery, who entered the final round as the leader at -9, shot an even 72 on Sunday and finished tied for fourth with Samantha Bruce.

Sarah White, a Grand Rapids native who was one shot behind the lead on Sunday, also shot an even 72 to finish in a seven-way tie for sixth place.

Rachel Niskanen, a 2023 graduate of Negaunee High School and current member of Central Michigan University women’s golf, shot +12 through her first two round and did not make the cut set at -1.