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KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIPJune 23, 2019Hannah GreenChaska, Minnesota THE MODERATOR: This one is always fun. I'm happy to welcome into the Media Center our 2019 KPMG Women's PGA Champion, Hannah Green. I know it's only an hour old but what is it like to hear that, your name preceded by Major Championship Winner? HANNAH GREEN: It's awesome. You're right, it's new to me. It has a nice ring to it. THE MODERATOR: What was the feeling as standing over that putt on 19? HANNAH GREEN: That was the most nervous I was all day and the second shot into the hole. I just didn't want to miss the putt. I mean when do you ever want to miss a putt put? That was really nice for it to go in and yeah, for it to actually go in the middle of the hole and good pace, I was really happy about that because I felt like I was striking it well all day and maybe didn't make as many putts as I would have liked. THE MODERATOR: How or where were you throughout the round of the fluctuation behind you and the fact that what was a 3 stroke lead had gone down to 1? HANNAH GREEN: I was watching the leaderboard and then on 18 I heard the cheer for SH so I knew the situation, I knew I needed to par 18 but I think the birdie putt on 16 was huge just to give me that gap coming down 18, and I mean I knew 18 was a tough pin position but I know the girls are a lot longer than me and have shorter clubs in, they could actually go for it. I had to just try and play it up the green on the right. So, yeah, I just can't believe I'm here right now. THE MODERATOR: To have done it with Karrie, and Jared and Grace and Becky in the crowd, it had to be an amazing feeling. HANNAH GREEN: Just watching the video of them coming and pour beer all over me just really makes me tear up and makes me so happy to, I guess, have them here this week. I think they really made a big difference to me winning and yeah, they just kept me really cool. Can you come every week? THE MODERATOR: Open it up for questions. Q. I've got a couple. What was the club on 18 and was it the right club in hindsight? HANNAH GREEN: It was a 4-iron. I think it was the right club. I mean I pulled it and like drew it into the wind so I guess maybe if it hit the green it could have rolled towards the back. That's what I was really playing for. I wasn't trying to go for the pin. I just didn't hit it well. Q. During the middle of the round when you kind of got in that zone where things were going a little sideways, what was the self-talk at that point and how did you pull yourself out of that? HANNAH GREEN: I knew I was hitting the ball well. I just needed to keep the ball in play and make sure I wasn't short-siding myself, or I feel like when I did miss the shots in the middle of the round I was giving myself better opportunities to make par. I just didn't capitalize on them. I was happy at least my mishits were in positions that I was playing for and I knew I just needed to make a couple pars, get the momentum back to then try and have a go for some birdies. Q. 114th in the world, missed the cut last week. How do you explain this week? HANNAH GREEN: I have no idea. It really -- I can't believe I'm in this position right now. I mean I've always wanted to win an event and to win a Major Championship as my first event is crazy. I wasn't really feeling as confident at the start of the week with my swing, especially with the result last week. But I guess things turned around and I had things go my way. That always helps for sure. Q. When you look back on it, what was more important to your development as a golfer, the money that the Karrie Scholarship gave to do the travel or just getting to develop a relationship with the woman who is the best golfer your country has ever produced? HANNAH GREEN: Without a doubt getting to know Karrie. Yes, the money is a great bonus but being able to stay in a house with her, literally, I guess, breathing on her, watching everything she does in a tournament, Majors, and watching outside the ropes it definitely gave me a big insight into what it was like. I know U.S. Open is huge event to watch. Definitely gave me an insight into the what the LPGA is like. I'm very grateful to her and I know everyone that has had her scholarship is very grateful, too. Q. In between your practicing last week, did you at all tune into the Men's U.S. Open as it unfolded in similar fashion where a man looking for his first Major held off the defending champion who also shot a 68? HANNAH GREEN: I actually didn't even think of that till now. I mean I did watch the U.S. Open, as I had time on my hands on the weekend. Just for, I guess, Gary Woodland to win and close like that with a putt on the last is definitely very inspiring and very emotional. I guess watching the TV and watching the golf was really good for me. Then I felt kind of like Justin Rose on the first day holing -- barely hitting any greens and holing a lot of putts. Yeah, I didn't even think of that with the situation with SH, but it's really cool. Q. Parring that difficult 1st hole from the fairway bunker, do you remember what your distance was, what you hit and where did that rank as far as the shot you were able to make today? HANNAH GREEN: So I think I had 140-something meters and that's usually a 6 or 7-iron depending on the conditions. I've had a lot of fairway bunker shots with a variety of different clubs and actually got a really good lie so I was pretty confident that I could advance it on to the green. It was a bit further left than I intended but it just trickled over the back of the green so it was fine but I think it made -- definitely helped me to make a par on the 1st hole just to make sure that I wasn't getting too nervous and continue the positive momentum for the rest of the round. Q. When you walked off the 8th green with a four shot lead, did that give you reason to start thinking about outcome, did that lead to some of the nerves, and then how do you recover from the stretch of 3 bogies in four holes? HANNAH GREEN: Yeah. I really wanted to hole that putt on 8 to give me a big buffer. At that point I wasn't thinking about the outcome on 18. I was really -- the putt on 9, my first putt was a complete misread. I thought would it break a lot more and definitely didn't think it was as slow as it was. The putt that I hit next I was actually really happy with. I hit a lot of good putts out there so it's hard for them to not like see them not go in. That's why I know I just had to stay patient. I knew I was holing a lot of putts and knew most of the time I was reading the putts really well. I felt like my speed was usually pretty good and there was a lot of chances for me to hole putts. I just needed to stay patient because my ball-striking -- when I have shorter irons I can attack pins. I knew coming down the stretch I would have shorter clubs, besides the last hole. Yeah, I was a little frustrated with the bogies, three in four holes because there -- it was very self-bogies. They definitely could have been pars. I'm really happy with definitely making the par on 13, having a tap-in there. That definitely settled me to then come back towards the water and play 14, 15, knew they were birdie opportunities there. Yeah, just happy that I finished on a positive note. Q. Hannah, it's so difficult to lead wire to wire at a Major Championship. Do you get confidence from each round that you're in the lead or do you find yourself compartmentalizing each day and trying to take each one as it comes in? HANNAH GREEN: Definitely. Well, it's my first time in this position and I don't know how successful people are with leading everyday so I just wanted to make sure that I didn't get too ahead of myself even out on the golf course, let alone off the golf course. I think it's hard when you have the lead overnight because there's so many thoughts about what can happen. That was my first time doing it. I really didn't want to talk about it or think about it. I just wanted to take every shot, every hole just one step at a time and I think I did that well, especially the last five holes. Q. You had a pretty long wait on the 18th tee with a one shot lead. What did you do to sort of settle yourself or distract yourself as you waiting? HANNAH GREEN: My caddy and I were talking, chatting about -- actually talking about the British Open, the venues that we'll have in future years. We were talking about golf but not the kind of situation. I just wanted to talk about anything besides what was really happening at the moment and I think that's what we did really well in this situation is just switching on and switching off at the right times. Q. Just wondering if in the last few years as you've been learning from Karrie, if it's ever crossed your mind that gee, I'd like to do something like this some day for other generations and you're now a role model? HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, I mean if Karrie ever does give up the scholarship I would love to pick it up and continue to do something like she's doing. Girls' golf in Australia isn't as big as it is here but I think we are now starting to get everything in order for it to become better. So, if I can help in anyway possible, I would love to. Q. Entering into this week, Hannah, was winning or even contending really at the forefront of your mind? HANNAH GREEN: Not really, to be honest. It sounds really bad but I mean every week that you come out you want to win but I didn't feel like I had my best game to do that, especially -- yes, after the 1st Round I was like okay, I'm leading, there's a possibility that things could happen but I didn't want to get too ahead of myself, just wanted to keep it as mellow and as normal as I possibly could. Q. You said that yesterday you only got nervous when you had to wait. Was that happening again today because obviously you had to wait a lot again? HANNAH GREEN: Yeah. Some waits I was nervous, some was actually probably better for me to actually just be able to breathe, I guess. The one on 18, I think probably wasn't bad at all for me. I hit a good drive. I hadn't really hit that fairway that many times. It was different wind direction to what we've been playing all week. So, I think it actually helped me because the putt on 17, even though it was a tap-in, I was still really nervous. To be able to have the long walk to the tee and wait and chat, I think that really helped me. Q. Where is your confidence this week coming from? You just seem so comfortable in a position where people would probably expect you not to be very comfortable. HANNAH GREEN: You know, I'm really not sure. Obviously this media stuff is very new to me but I'm comfortable with it. I think I'm lucky that I am that way. But, yeah, being out on the golf course, that was definitely a different -- I obviously never had that type of pressure. I'm really happy. I think I've got a good team around me and obviously having the supporters and the fans out there, that really helped, too. Q. You got the big trophy, big check coming. You also got a handwritten poem handed to you after 7. HANNAH GREEN: I did, yes. Lily, she -- I gave her a golf ball, ANA signed golf ball and her father was there and told me that and reminded me. Oh, wow. I got a cute little poem saying that I had given her a ball and also said, "You can win this", and so couple of times I actually -- I had it in the back of my yardage book because I didn't want it to get rained on. I didn't want it to get wet and ruined. A couple times on the back-9 when I was feeling nervous and had some time, I actually read it to myself. I have to thank Lily for writing that. I think it really helped me. Q. Karrie mentioned the barbeque they had. Did staying at the house sort of help you stay grounded, relaxed a little bit between rounds? HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, it did. As soon as I left the Media Center I went to the store to go buy an umbrella, I didn't buy any rain pants. But as soon as I got home everyone was there and making the food so it was really nice to just have all the Australians there and there really wasn't much golf talk at all. That was perfect. That's what I wanted. We didn't stay up that late. Having some good chats towards the end of the night. It was really fun. I think it was perfect. It was definitely how I want to spend a Saturday night. Q. Hannah, there were a lot of young girls watching throughout the weekend. You're a young winner of your first Major at 22 years old. How inspirational do you feel this can be for other girls who are wanting to get into this sport? HANNAH GREEN: Definitely. As soon as I see a young girl out there, if I have the opportunity, I want to give them a high five or smile or say hello. I never had the opportunity to do that at that age so me just giving them a smile can do something and oh, yup, I want to be like her. It only takes a second and it can change someone's life. I mean just seeing -- yeah, how many girls were out there, was awesome. I think that -- not that I've played in front of crowds like that, that was probably the most people or most girls I've ever seen watch a golf tournament. It just shows how strong it is up here. THE MODERATOR: Anything further for Hannah? Q. (Inaudible) HANNAH GREEN: 8-iron, yeah. THE MODERATOR: Anything else? All right. Enjoy it, it's all yours. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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