CAMBIA PORTLAND CLASSIC

September 15, 2021

Hannah Green

The Oregon Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right, here with Hannah Green, our 2019 winner. Welcome back to the Pacific Northwest. This always has to be a special place to come back to since getting that victory, huh?

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, definitely. I feel like because it's such a different scene out this way it's a lot of fun, and being here at Oregon Golf Club, it's so pretty, so I'm very excited to be back.

Q. Aussie breakfast up here? I know there are a lot of those.

HANNAH GREEN: I know. I haven't actually gone yet. I've had two early starts the last couple days, and then again tomorrow I'm play in the morning. So maybe Friday morning I'll treat myself.

Q. We'll work on that. You mentioned the new course, Oregon Golf Club. You finished the pro-am. Long walk, but a good way to see the golf course and learn a new place. What challenges does this course provide to you and the rest of the field this week?

HANNAH GREEN: Think it'll actually be quite different with how swirly it gets up on some of the hills, especially with some of par-3s.

One, I think one of the holes on the back nine it should be downwind but it was into the wind when we played. Just things like that. Just timing can be a huge difference.

The greens are really tricky. They're rolling really well but they're very quick, and I would say probably the quickest we've played on all year. I think trying to get the line and the speed will be quite difficult.

Hopefully we don't have too many putts out there and we can actually make them. Yeah, it's definitely a change the scenery to Columbia, but hopefully I can have a good week. I think keeping it off the tee on the fairway will be very helpful, too.

Q. What's the practice for you and your caddie when you come to a place you've not been before or a place you don't know as well to get used to it before you tee off on Thursday?

HANNAH GREEN: I guess this week was a little bit different because Monday we had the qualifier as well as the pro-am, so I didn't play on Monday, as probably I would've if I had the opportunity to get out there.

I would've played nine and then played nine yesterday. Because it is such a tough walk I didn't want to play too many holes before getting into the tournament. It was nice to see all of them again today. It did take quite a while to play, but hopefully out actual tournament rounds aren't too bad.

It's quite a tough walk, so hopefully no one goes down this week. There are a few steps that are a little bit iffy, so if everyone is good by the end of the week I think we've done well.

Q. Yes, absolutely. I want to ask you about 18, which is playing as a par-5 this week, and it's the Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole. You're currently leading that challenge, No. 1. What is the strategy on that hole specifically? Start there, on the strategy for playing 18 this week.

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, I think it's pretty generous off the tee. I feel like the bail-out is on the right because everything will kick down onto the fairway.

Today I played it into the wind and I played in the pro-am so I played up further than what I would've, but I still think it's a pretty gettable par-5.

It's going to be tricky with that green because there is quite a lot of slope to it, but I would say with the bunkers you're better off laying up short or going for it.

There is a little bit of risk involved. There is water all down the left, so I didn't actually know that I was leading until British Open I heard my friend Ali Whitaker mention it on the telecast. Hopefully I just keep making birdies and eagles and get that nice bonus at the end of the year.

Q. Cool million dollar check wouldn't be that bad.

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah.

Q. You said you didn't know you were ahead. Is that something that's in the back of your mind or are you a particular risk-reward kind of player?

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, I don't know. I feel like I played really well on the par-5s at the start of the season when I was playing well, so it was quite a surprise, to be honest. I don't really know how to do the calculations and what I needed to for the rest of the year in order to keep that lead.

Probably wouldn't change my strategy. I feel like depends on the circumstance on how you're playing the hole, whether you feel like you're comfortable over a certain shot. Yeah, hopefully I can keep that lead come CME.

Q. The first time we had this challenge Carlota won it two years ago and was eternally grateful for what that prize could do, and also the understanding that it would put the winner in a group with Brooks Koepka and Matthew Wolff on the PGA TOUR side. What's it like for you players to have the opportunity to do things, have those opportunities that are on the same level and the same playing conditions as the men?

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, it's amazing. I sacrificed five events this year so I kind of lost a little bit of ground on the Money List, but to have a possible million dollar bonus is huge. I'm actually wanting to buy a house in Australia, so that would be a huge help if I could get that.

Yeah, just to have the same obviously prize as the men is huge, and a huge thank you that Aon for providing that.

Q. My last question. You mentioned Australia. I know getting home is so important to you. Right now you've been a bit of a nomad, haven't been able to get home for obvious reasons. We get why. What's the last few weeks been like for and you the challenge of going from place to place and figuring out all of those logistics while keeping yourself fresh?

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, it's hard. Myself and Su Oh have pretty much traveled together ever since 2019, and we've using Australia as our base, but because of COVID it's been very difficult.

So the last few weeks we actually spent a week in the U.K. with Georgia Hall and Harry, her boyfriend, so they looked after us for a week, but then we returned to Orlando, Florida. It's kind of our home away from home.

Yeah, even then we don't have a membership at any golf club, so just been practicing and playing with other LPGA players, so very grateful to all those girls that have took us out and played. It's obviously not the same. It is nice. We have a bed to sleep in and a lot of things that we've accumulated since being out here.

But I don't know, hopefully the borders can change a little bit with Australia, because we definitely miss home.

Q. Welcome back to Portland. Thanks for coming out again.

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah.

Q. Take us back really quickly to the win in 2019. What do you remember about the atmosphere?

HANNAH GREEN: It was crazy. I actually had a flight back to Australia the next day, so it's crazy to think that I could actually easily go home. But it was a lot of fun. A lot of us decided to go out and celebrate downtown, so it was definitely a week that I won't forget.

I had so many great memories going back to Columbia. It's a very unique golf course. I will definitely hopefully get back there one day.

Q. And now the slate is sort of cleaned coming to Portland for the Oregon Golf Club. What can you tell us about preparing for the golf course here, and is there a particular stretch of holes you're looking forward to or maybe a little weary of?

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, I feel like the front and the back nine are probably just as tough as each other. I wouldn't say there is one more scorable than the other. Perhaps on the back nine the par-5s are a bit more reachable. The first was a very long hole today.

But, yeah, I think it's going to be interesting on the greens where they put the pin positions. I feel like if you have any putt above the hole you have to play defensive. You can't really give to a go.

Even like if I accidently lip out as well you got to be careful that you don't get the kind of lip out and have a four-footer coming back up the hill or whatever.

I think whoever wins this week will probably have a really good week on the greens. I think that's where everyone will makeup their scoring. For me personally, I just want to give myself as many uphill putts as possible so I can be aggressive.

Q. What is does it mean to have the fans back out in Portland this year? I know last year they missed the event unfortunately, but good to have people back in Portland. Can you speak to the atmosphere generally in Portland are the fans in Portland?

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, absolutely. I had a lot of support coming down the stretch when I won at Columbia in '19, and I think that definitely helped me cross the line and get the win. It's really nice to have people come back out again, and I feel like because the golf course is so hilly there is a few holes where you don't actually see where your tee shot or where the ball will end up on the green.

It'll be nice to have people let us know if it's on the green or not. Yeah, hopefully they come out and applaud and enjoy our entertainment.

Q. We covered 18 already; let's take it to 9. What's the strategy on that hole? How will you handle that shot off the tee?

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, it's interesting. To be honest, I didn't hit a great tee shot there today. Hopefully tomorrow feel a little bit better about the shot.

Yeah, it's a quirky little hole. I played with a member in the pro-am and he said he generally plays it up the left. I'm not sure if I would be able to do that with the crowd, so hopefully I just hit the fairway and have sort of short iron into the green and make a good putt.

Q. Last one from me. Completely unrelated but sort of related. Fellow Perth native, Daniel Riccardo, won the F1 Grand Prix this weekend.

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah.

Q. I was very excited personally. Did you watch the Grand Prix, know anyone in town locally from Perth who was celebrating?

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, so I was actually in the Golf Australia house in Orlando and all of us were pretty much watching the entire race. I literally watched the entire thing until Verstappen and Lewis had their crash. So I heard the guys screaming at the TV. I was like Oh, no, what's happened, like maybe Riccardo had crashed, but then obviously went back out.

So, yeah, it was great for him to get the win. Obviously a few years since he had one, so hopefully I can have another Perth person win this week. Yeah, very inspiring. A few of the members at my home club know him and his family, so I'm sure they would've celebrated for him.

Q. Will you do a shoey if you win?

HANNAH GREEN: It's funny you say that. Su and I said whoever wins next has to do a shoey, and then I'll do it with her and vice versa. So yes, we'll do it. Have never done it before and I was quite surprised that Lando even did it, so I'll do one. I'll take one for the team.

Q. You have to now. We'll hold you to it.

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah.

Q. You got a chance to play for your country earlier this summer. Congratulations on your great finish there. Did you watch much of the Solheim Cup when it was going on, and what's the difference for you to kind of tune in as a friend and a fan watching other ladies play for their country?

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, I pretty much watched every match. I probably should have been doing some more practice, but it was really fun and obviously came close in the singles. Yeah, it was different. Yeah, I actually even thought about going and possibly watching in person, but I felt like I probably would've seen more on TV.

But, yeah, I think it was a great opportunity to showcase women's golf. I don't know what the numbers would've been, but I feel like a lot of people tuned in to watch. I would love to have the opportunity to be in some sort of team environment like that. I found it a huge honor to represent Australia at the Olympics, so I don't know, maybe we could do Asia Pacific or Presidents Cup but a female version.

Yeah, I definitely watched it, and it was cool to know all the girls playing against each other and how passionate they were representing their own continents.

Q. When you come back to Portland or this part of the world, does it remind you of anywhere else you have played? Does this course specifically feel like it could be dropped out of somewhere else in the world?

HANNAH GREEN: No. I don't think you can get any type of scenery like this in Australia. I really enjoy just looking elsewhere and seeing all the trees. Even talking with my pro-am partners, they're saying probably soon the leaves will turn yellow and red and almost fall off.

I just can't imagine it, because where I'm from is just desert and gum trees. It kind of brings me back to center and really appreciate where we are.

Q. It's true. In about two weeks' time, if you look like off 12 and 13 across the river, it would just be red and orange. It's really pretty. We'll send you a picture.

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah.

Q. When you come to a place like this there is a lot of outdoor recreation. Obviously a notable food and drink culture. Is this a place where you might spend as much time off the course exploring and enjoying as on the course? And if so, what are some of your favorites things you've gotten to do here?

HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, definitely. The first time I ever went to Portland was in 2015. I played the U.S. Amateur at Portland Golf Club, so I had a host people family. I'm not really sure where we went, but we went to a hike and saw some waterfalls and stuff like that, so I definitely picked up that Oregon and Portland was a place to kind of do outdoor things.

But, yeah, I feel like the food is always so great, and I think in '19 before -- by obviously 2020 we couldn't dine inside -- but I pretty much went to Proud Mary's Cafe every day and had breakfast. I think maybe one day I didn't go.

Yeah, definitely enjoy the food, and I feel like Portland is probably the closest place to Australia in terms of food because I think we're pretty lucky in Australia with going to restaurants and stuff. I haven't really done too much this week. I have been to Din Tai Fung, which I think is going to be a pretty popular spot for LPGA players to go.

It's just really cool. I like the nature. Not that I'm much of a hiker. I feel like this week is my hike on the golf course. Yeah, it's very unique up here.