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CANADIAN OPEN

September 8, 2006

Nathan Green

ANCASTER, ONTARIO

TODD BUDNICK: We welcome Nathan Green, rookie on TOUR this year. Shot an even par 70 in the second round of the Canadian Open following a 64 yesterday.

Nathan, six top tens this year as a rookie. It's been a very strong first season out here.

NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, definitely. Played a lot better than I expected I would. Just been happy with mainly the consistency I played this year. Haven't missed a great deal of cuts. Just sort of found myself popping up every now and again for a top 10, which has been really good.

Don't know why, but I'm just trying to sort of keep going with it while I'm playing well.

TODD BUDNICK: It's very difficult for a rookie in general to play out here, but especially somebody from another country. Obviously you've done very well on the golf course. Has there been anything else difficult in your rookie season at all?

NATHAN GREEN: Not really, no. The main thing it's a lot easier than the Nationwide. I don't know, I was sort of driving around the last two years. This is sort of easier than doing that. We get looked after great.

The only difficult thing is probably getting used to the new golf courses. You find yourself doing a lot more work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of the event. Yeah, that's the only thing, getting used to the courses and playing in front of big crowds, which I'm not really used to.

TODD BUDNICK: Let's talk about today. You started off with a eagle on No. 4 to get your round going, then kind of a back and forth round the rest of the way.

NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, I struggled all day. I didn't really hit many fairways. Sort of scrapped it around the front. Even the eagle I think the putt probably would have gone off the green down into the collection area anyway.

A little bit scrappy. I got through 10 not too bad. Then 11, 12 I just made double there. Just pretty much fought my way in. Didn't really hit another good golf shot for the rest of the day.

The putter held me in there. Made a good birdie putt on 17, actually a couple of good shots into 18 to finish off the day. All day, it was a little bit of a struggle. The wind was picking up. Just found myself hitting into the greens. You had to be a lot more precise. Greens are at least a foot quicker than yesterday, it felt like anyway. Pins are tucked away. If you're above the hole, you pretty much are trying to 2 putt, trying to get it inside of about four or five feet.

TODD BUDNICK: We'll open it up for questions.

Q. You're listed as a rookie, but you're not new to professional golf. Eight or 10 years pro.

NATHAN GREEN: About seven years I've been pro now. It's pretty tough to call me a rookie. I spent three years on the Canadian Tour. Probably my seventh year on the Australian Tour. Probably a bit more experienced than most of the guys who are sort of considered rookies out here.

Yeah, I don't know. I can't really sort of put my finger on why I've played well this year and why it's taken so long to get here. I feel like I'm playing similar sort of golf to what I've always done. Probably just a bit better attitude, that sort of thing, I think.

Q. Playing up here, winning up here in Sudbury in 2000, how was that for the confidence, getting you for the next level to the PGA TOUR?

NATHAN GREEN: It was definitely a big factor. That was sort of the way I learned my professional golf. The Australian Tour even at that time was pretty segmented. The Canadian Tour was the first tour sort of away from home, traveling week to week. Pretty much how myself and a few of my mates cut our teeth on a professional tour.

That was kind of the first and only win I've had on any tour anywhere. I look back on that, that was a great time. I know I really enjoyed my time on the Canadian Tour. It was definitely a contributing factor to where I am now.

Q. With your time on the Canadian Tour, do you have any special affinity being back in Canada now on the PGA TOUR?

NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, I really love my time up here. When I played, it was a little easier tour to play. You sort of bought a car over in Vancouver, drove your way across, ended up in Toronto, pretty much gave the car away. That's sort of how we did it.

Yeah, what was the exact question then?

Q. Any affinity being back here?

NATHAN GREEN: I've got a lot of friends up here, anywhere from sort of Red Deer to Vancouver to Victoria, a lot of the staff from the Canadian Tour. Yeah, I'd say pretty similar to the Australian. I don't know, just pretty friendly, love a beer sort of people. So, yeah.

Q. How does one give away a car in Toronto?

NATHAN GREEN: Give away a car? Oh, okay. I know there was another group of guys, I think they left a car running in the car park at the airport. They couldn't even be bothered giving it away (laughter). I just gave mine to a guy. He works for the tour. He was one of the media guys on the tour. It's a lot cheaper than sort of renting cars week to week.

We had a great time. I think the very first year, there was four of us in a Ford Aerostar driving across. Just good, fun times. A good way to do it before you got married. It was good.

Q. You're from Toronto, Australia, right?

NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, just a small little sort of right on Lake Macquarie. Just a small little town there. That's about it. Just north of Newcastle.

Q. All the Australians who have won on the PGA TOUR, half the country has won. Are you getting a little nudge from them, time for one more?

NATHAN GREEN: I wouldn't mind, yeah. There's plenty of us out here. I think there's about 25 guys, 25 Australians on TOUR this year, something around about that number. I think there's been about eight victories.

Yeah, personally I don't feel like I've since the first week, I haven't had a great chance of winning at any stage. I don't know, hopefully this week I'll be able to have a good round tomorrow and start thinking a little bit better than I did today and find myself in with the champion on Sunday. That would be great.

Q. Australia is well known for the way it develops its talent. Are you a product of the sports institute? Self made?

NATHAN GREEN: I think it's a pretty good system we've got. Unlike the American system, which is sort of all school based, college based, ours is all each state has an Institute of Sport. If you're anywhere in the top 10 ranked golfers in the state, you get looked after for clubs, balls, coaching. You've got access to pretty much anything you need, sport psychs, that sort of thing. You sort of don't have any excuses once you get into that program.

The coaching, I think the Vic institute has probably produced our best golfers, (indiscernible), Steve, they've had Ogilvy, Allenby, all those guys come through there. New South Wales, we've probably struggled a little bit to get the real quality game.

It is still probably only about 10 years old, the whole system. Each year we're getting more and more players on TOUR. I think there's doing something right. I think they're nurturing a lot of the good talent from a young age. We're getting guys out here earlier stages. Nick Flanagan, those sort of guys, are sort of a testament to that.

Q. Growing up in Toronto, did you know anything about Toronto?

NATHAN GREEN: I don't know, I didn't know much about it. I knew it was in Canada somewhere. I didn't know exactly where till I came over here. Yeah, I knew I don't know if it's the capital of Canada. It's Ottawa, something like that, yeah. That's about all I do know.

Been to a Blue Jays game and that before different stages when I've been in town. Yeah, it's definitely I don't know, it's probably about 20 to 50 times the size of where I'm from. It's a good place to be.

Q. When you were out than the Canadian Tour, you won a half a million with a hole in one at the Ericsson Masters. What year was that? '01?

NATHAN GREEN: Either '01 or '02. I'm not too sure. I probably should know. I'm not good with the years. The last seven years are a bit of a blur. It's a little bit sort of golf, golf and more golf. Yeah, I was pretty inconsistent in that period. I think pretty much all that money went the next year with the house. I played terrible on the Nationwide Tour the year after that.

Yeah, that's sort of the one thing I've always struggled for, is consistency. That's sort of why I've been happy with the way I played this year. Sort of week in and week out, I've been playing pretty solid.

Q. Anyone who drove with you in the Aerostar, anyone else make the jump to the PGA?

NATHAN GREEN: I'm trying to think. No, I think a few of them are club pros back in Australia now, doing reasonably well. I'm not sure what the other guy its doing. He was playing a little bit of golf, still toying with the idea of playing again. I think he sort of took about a year off. I'm not too sure what he's up to, yeah.

TODD BUDNICK: Let's go through the rest of the card. The bogey on No. 8.

NATHAN GREEN: Bogey on 8. Yeah, just playing a bit down breeze. The whole green sort of slopes away. Hit a 5 iron. Didn't actually get it up onto the fairway. Made a good chip down to about four feet.

TODD BUDNICK: Birdie on 10.

NATHAN GREEN: Good drive, wedge to about probably 15 to 20 feet. Made a good putt there.

TODD BUDNICK: Bogey on 11.

NATHAN GREEN: Terrible tee shot out the right, into the rough. Hit it up just short. Chipped it up and missed probably about a 10 footer there.

TODD BUDNICK: 12.

NATHAN GREEN: 12, hit it far right. It was on the other golf course, I think. Unplayable. Hit it up short of the green, chipped up to about six feet, missed that one.

TODD BUDNICK: 15, bogey.

NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, left rough again. That was probably the worst lie I've had in the rough this week. Could only advance it into the left rough around the green. Didn't get it up and down. Hit a poor chip.

TODD BUDNICK: 17.

NATHAN GREEN: 17, bad drive into the bunker, got it out, wedged it to probably about 25 feet. Made a good putt there.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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