Hannah Green didn’t feel like she had her best stuff on day one of the CPKC Women’s Open, but the five-time LPGA Tour winner hung tough in Calgary, Alberta, carding a 3-under 69 to open her week at Earl Grey Golf Club.
Green got off to a quiet start on Thursday, parring her first four holes before picking up a pair of back-to-back birdies on holes five and six to move to 2-under. The Australian then made seven straight pars before grabbing another birdie on the par-5 14th hole to get to 3-under, but she bogeyed the 15th to drop back to 2-under for the tournament.
After a par on 16, Green managed to snag one final birdie on the par-3 17th hole to close out her opening 69, a performance that has put the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 6 in a tie for second early in Canada, one shot back of first-round leader Lauren Coughlin.
“With how I was driving the ball, I didn't expect it at all. I only hit four fairways today and one of them was with a 5-iron. Wasn't how I planned out the round,” said Green. “But I made a lot of really good putts today. A lot of really clutch par putts. A lot of very long putts that perhaps could have been a very big change in how the momentum was in the round.
“But I felt bad. I was playing with Megan Khang, and she played solid and she couldn't find the hole, and I was holing 40-footers, 30-footers. It was tricky out there. There were some pretty strong gusts sometimes where you had to make sure you were hitting the right shot with the wind. I’m just super happy to be under par this afternoon.”
This is Green’s fifth time teeing it up in the CPKC Women’s Open, and in her four prior appearances in this event, she has missed one cut and earned one top-10 finish, tying for fourth in the 2023 edition of the tournament, which was held at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club.
This week marks her 13th start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and it has been an impressive year thus far for the 27-year-old. Green collected her fourth Tour title in just her second start of the year at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in early March and then successfully defended a title for the first time in her LPGA Tour career in April at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. She is the only other player besides Nelly Korda, who has claimed six victories this season, to have earned multiple wins in 2024.
Green also has five other top-25 results to her credit in 2024, including a runner-up result at the Mizuho Americas Open that saw the Aussie almost outlast Korda in a gritty head-to-head battle at Liberty National Golf Club and a tie for 16th at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally at Lancaster Country Club, Green’s season-best finish in a major championship.
That consistency appears to have crossed the Canadian border with Green – at least through day one in Calgary, Alberta, anyway – and while no golf tournament is ever won on a Thursday, Green’s solid start could be indicative of more success to come for the Aussie over the next three rounds.
According to KPMG Performance Insights, out of all four rounds, Green has gained the least amount of strokes on the field in the first round (+0.56) throughout the course of the season, something further evidenced by the fact that she has only opened with a round in the 60s four other times this season, most recently doing so at the Cognizant Founders Cup, where Green ultimately tied for 18th.
But there are still three rounds to play at what is proving to be a difficult Earl Grey Golf Club, and even though she is enjoying the venue so far in Canada, Green knows she needs to get some rest and tweak a few things ahead of her second round to prepare to tackle another challenge on day two at the CPKC Women’s Open.
“I feel exhausted already, and it's only round one. I think because I was all over the place and I was scrambling. It is tough out there,” said Green. “Earl Grey has been really nice to play. We have got a bit of variety on this golf course, which I like. There are some shorter holes that aren't necessarily always easier, and I really enjoy that because I think we have a lot of that in Australia, so it almost feels like playing at home. This course reminds me of Blythefield, Meijer. I’m really liking it here so far.”
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