THE MODERATOR: Incredible finish, three birdies down the stretch. What was going through your mind especially during that last putt?
HANNAH GREEN: I knew that they moved the tee forward on 17, so it was going to be tricky on that hole. But I knew that that was going to be a tough hole to make birdie. But even 18, I had 6-iron in.
I didn't hole many putts from long range today until obviously the last couple holes. But I made a really good birdie on 16 and was able to 2-putt there. Kind of gave the first putt a little too much and then made a 5-footer for birdie. That was nice. I could then see the leaderboard on 17, and made a putt there. I knew I needed to at least birdie the last to win by one. So as soon as that putt went in, I was like, oh, my God, I've won. I felt bad for the girls that had to putt after that, but yeah, it just all went really, really quickly.
THE MODERATOR: Can you talk about how aware you were of the leaderboard? There was a four-way tie heading into the back nine. Were you thinking about it?
HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, it's kind of hard not to see the leaderboards on this golf course when they are bright red and as big as they are, it's hard not to see them. And sometimes they are actually the line that you want to take into the greens. I usually look at leaderboards anyway. I'm not too concerned. I'd like to know myself. I don't know if it dictated my game plan as such but I knew on the greens I needed to be aggressive and make sure I got the putt past the hole versus leaving them short.
Yeah, it looked like it could be anyone's game on the back nine.
Q. Special is this win in Singapore?
HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, I've always loved coming to Singapore. 2021 was my first year. I almost won the championship. I three-putted 17 and then three-putt 18 to lose my bun. So it's a place that I really enjoy coming to. The food is great and the golf is great and we've been very fortunate today with the weather to hold especially. It feels great to have this trophy in my hands.
Q. On the first day you shot a 74 and after that 67s. Was there any thought in your mind after the first day, what was going through your mind?
HANNAH GREEN: I said to my coach that I didn't feel like I played that bad. I was in the first group and had quite tough conditions. It wasn't that calm with the wind in the morning. I just said after play that 4-under was leading, I was only six shots behind. I knew that there was potential to shoot low scores, but obviously you have to go and to that. Even signing my scorecard, I didn't realize I shot 5-under. It was nice to finish that way.
But yeah, this golf course has many tough holes but also some opportunities for birdies.
Q. Can you talk about your caddie?
HANNAH GREEN: Yeah, I definitely relied on my caddie today. We had good conversations, just when we had time to switch off and not think about golf. But we also were trying to rush to beat the weather and so we didn't have as much time to think about what the situation was. All I was thinking was on 18 was to 2-putt, but so that I don't want to have a playoff. I remember when Celine was in a playoff in Malaysia for nine holes, we didn't have a forecast for nine holes, nor would I want to play a nine-hole playoff. To see the putt go in straightaway was a surprise but also happy. It's great.
Q. On 16th hole --
HANNAH GREEN: They moved the tee forward on 16. The I knew if I hit a good tee shot there, I would be able to carry the bunker and be able to go for it in two. I hit it -- would hit the bunker face and came out and that was really lucky. But I also hit my second shot on the green and gave myself a good look at eagle. I rushed it past five feet and then managed to hole the putt back.
On the next hole, hit a little wedge into 17. Obviously holed a nice 20-foot putt. 18, holed a 40-footer, I don't remember how long that putt was. I knew on 17 once I got to 12-under par I tied Celine and it was between us.
Q. Now that you've won the tournament, anything you can tell to young golfers, what advice do you have?
HANNAH GREEN: I think you just have to enjoy the sport. It can be one that doesn't give you much success straightaway. Even though I've had four wins on the LPGA, I think this is now my 11th worldwide. There's so many hard moments in golf. Celine played great today but she didn't end up with the trophy in her hands but she still should be proud of herself how she performed under the pressure. You have to take these highs when they come because it doesn't always come and golf can be a learning sport sometimes.
I feel that's what I've been about the last couple years about having the right people around to support me. There's so many of us Aussies on tour now, it's nice that we get to travel together and have dinner, just have good friendship while we are out playing because some weeks can be better than others for sure.
That's what we attribute something where sometimes you do have to shoot 5-, 6-under to be at the top to then shooting -- you have to adapt your game and not think about previous shots you hit in previous years. I said to my caddie, the tees are so tight but the greens are so nice to putt on. Sentosa do a great job preparing the course.
HSBC hosting, making sure the players have everything they need, it makes a big difference when we get to play and it makes us want to return to the event even more and make sure that we are in the Top 60 and be able to come back again.
Q. After 16 tournaments that HSBC has sponsored, all but two have been won by major champions, what is it about this tournament that a major champion rises to the top?
I guess like they say it really is Asia’s major, the first round definitely played very different to how I played it today. Even round’s 2 and 3 was still firmer than what we are used to, and that’s what made it tricky, sometimes you do have to shoot 5-, 6-under to be at the top to then shooting -- you have to adapt your game and not think about previous shots you hit in previous years. I said to my caddie, the tees are so tight but the greens are so nice to putt on. Sentosa do a great job preparing the course. HSBC hosting, making sure the players have everything they need, it makes a big difference when we get to play and it makes us want to return to the event even more and make sure that we are in the Top 60 and be able to come back again.
THE MODERATOR: I have a couple more. Looking at the stats, you're a player that didn't hit the fairway too often this week. How do you approach that and overcome that this week?
HANNAH GREEN: It took a lot of getting used to the first couple rounds because I did get a lot of lies that you could either go straight under or get the flag. I don't know if I hit many more fairways but I was able to hit more greens which was nice. A little bit more stress-free but yeah, I didn't hit it as good as I have in previous years, but I think I felt confident over some putts. I had a lot of testing putts on the front nine for par because I was either leaving it way too short or crushing it past the hole. It was nice to be confident on those putts because those are the ones you expect to make. The putt on the last, you don't expect to make those all time. Just got to keep working on what I'm doing and I think I'll be in for a good season.
THE MODERATOR: How did you handle your emotions today? Was it a tactic to not focus on things?
HANNAH GREEN: I find it hard to switch off between shots. We're out there for five hours, trying to concentrate for that long is really difficult and I find it hard to concentrate in general. I like to switch off. My playing partners were really easygoing and easy to get along with. Just spoke with Andrea. We had dinner last week and caught up and we were paired together in the first round. So it was nice to see her grind the last few holes and finish well.
THE MODERATOR: So you mentioned this is your fourth win, what does it this win mean to you in the grand scheme of your career right now?
HANNAH GREEN: This is the earliest I've won in a season I guess on the LPGA. I don't actually think it will change too much to what I will play this year. I still think because of the Olympics and two swings to Europe that I will continue with the schedule I put in place. But it is nice just to have the flexibility. So I'm excited to play tournament of chance next year as well because I haven't played it before because I was busy this year. But yeah, it's nice to be able to have that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports