There was tragic news in Australian sport on Thursday. Australian golf prospect Jessica Bang died at the age of 18 of a brain haemorrhage according to Sean Kearns of the BBC.
Bang’s tragic story began on August 1. She was in Thailand preparing for a golf tournament, when all of a sudden she collapsed. Bang was then sent to a Bangkok hospital, where she had emergency brain surgery. While in intensive care, Bang passed away on Thursday at the age of 18.
Bang had been a member of the WPGA Tour of Australasia since November. Her most notable accomplishment was winning the 2026 Ford Women’s New South Wales Open Regional Qualifying Event in Moss Vale, Australia in February. Bang posted a winning score of -13.
As an amateur, Bang also won a women’s golf tournament in Queensland. According to Andrew Hedgman of news.com.au, Bang was ”building a reputation as one of Australian golf’s brightest young prospects.”
There are currently two Australian golfers ranked in the top 20 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Hannah Green of Perth (the 2019 Women’s PGA Championship winner) is ninth in the world, and Minjee Lee, also of Perth (the 2021 Evian Championship winner, the 2022 United States Women’s Open championship winner and the 2025 Women’s PGA Championship winner) is currently ranked 13th in the world. Like Lee, Bang was of Korean descent. However, unlike Lee, Bang was actually born in South Korea and just recently announced her intention of representing Australia internationally.
