The Australian carded a bogey-free four-under 67 in round two at the Wilshire Country Club to get to seven under, six shots off the scorching pace set by leader Jessica Korda.
Green birdied the par-5 2nd before adding another with two at the par-3 7th. Further birdies at the 14th and the closing par-3 18th put her in contention.
“I feel like my game has been trending,” the major champion said.
“I guess some people know that I’ve added a bit of length to my game, so it’s nice to come back to golf courses and it feels a little bit easier.”
Green has focused on getting more out of her driver in 2021 and is now among the longest on the Tour, averaging almost 285 yards off the tee.
“My coach and I have been working on obviously getting our club speed up, but I know that my impact position can kind of change, and that’s kind of been the goal is making sure that my hands stay low and that I’m using my body to create that speed,” she said.
“I’ve been going to the gym quite often. I worked really hard with my trainer this off-season, so it’s nice to see that I’m getting some reward with it on the golf course.”
“I’ve added a bit of length to my game, so it’s nice to come back to golf courses and it feels a little bit easier.” – Hannah Green.
Green will need to shoot low on the weekend to catch Korda, who added a six-under 65 on Thursday to break the tournament 36-hole scoring record and increase her lead to three strokes.
A day after matching the tournament record with a 64, Korda added six birdies to extend her flawless display and sit at 13-under 129.
“It’s going to sound crazy, but I actually lipped out a good amount out there today, so it actually could have been lower,” Korda said.
“Just had a little bit of a harder time with some speed today.”
Top-ranked Jin Young Ko is second after a 65 while her fellow South Korean star Sei Young Kim is a shot back at nine under courtesy of a 66.
Canadian Brooke Henderson (65) and 43-year-old Angela Stanford (66) share fourth at eight under.
The six other Australians in the field all made the cut, with Gabriela Ruffels carding a 67 to jump 30 places and be tied-13th at five under.
Sarah Jane Smith (70) and Sarah Kemp (72) are one under, Su Oh dropped back to even with a five-over 76 while Katherine Kirk (69) and defending champion Minjee Lee (73) are one-over-par.
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