One of the new faces on the Epson Tour in 2017 will be Australian Hannah Green, who advanced to Stage III of LPGA Qualifying Tournament this past December. Green, who turned professional in October, finished 2nd to Lydia Ko at the 2015 New Zealand Open. She is a 6-time West Australian State Representative and was teammates with current LPGA rising stars Su oh and Minjee Lee on the national team.
Green played very well as an exemption in the 2016 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. She placed T20 with a four-day score of 4-under, 284.
She has confirmed that she will play full-time on the Epson Tour in 2017.
Epsontour.com: Are you excited to start competing?
Hannah: I’m so excited to start competing! I turned professional in October and have only played Tour Q-Schools. I’m playing some events in Australia in Jan. and Feb. on the ALPG Tour which I have been lucky enough to play some of these events as an amateur so I'm really excited to see how everything goes this year.
Epsontour.com: Was there a moment when you knew you’d turn professional?
Hannah: For the last few years my team and I have had a goal for when I should turn pro and it was approximately at the end of 2016 or early 2017. We made this right after I graduated high school as I had no real interest in going to college. So, the last three years I've just been playing amateur golf around the world and getting as much experience as I can with the help of Golf Australia and Karrie’s (Webb) scholarship. My plan at the start of 2016 was to play the Espirito Santo as my last event as an amateur and that was the case. I actually planned on going to Second Stage of tour school as an amateur but was just too keen to turn pro!
Epsontour.com: What are your goals for the upcoming season?
Hannah: I’m planning on playing as many events as I can this year so I can get as high as I can on the money list (Volvik Race for the Card). The major goal is to get on the LPGA for 2018 and whether that is coming top 10 in the money list or three wins throughout the season that is fine.
Epsontour.com: Who is your goal idol?
Hannah: It would have to be Karrie Webb. When I was growing up I didn’t really have an idol. I guess I just looked up to my dad who also plays golf. As soon as I started to get more competitive with my golf I realized what Karrie has achieved in her career! I mean she is in the World Golf Hall of Fame how can you not look up to that!
Epsontour.com: How would you describe your game to someone that has never watched you?
Hannah: I’d say that my long game is more sharp then my short game. I don’t hit it really long but I wouldn’t consider myself short. I play aggressive but only when I feel like I’m going to pull it off or when there isn’t much danger.
Epsontour.com: What will be most challenging in 2017?
Hannah: Being away from home/Australia for possibly 6 or more months. Perth has got to be the farthest place from America to travel back and forth so it looks like I won’t be going home for a while. The longest I have been away from home is a couple months so it’s going to be tough not to see my family and friends in person for that long. Living out of a suitcase isn’t really any fun but it’s something I have to get used to.
Epsontour.com: Do you have any outside of golf hobbies?:
Hannah: Not really, I used to play a lot of sports when I was younger but now that I'm playing golf full time it’s a bit harder. I really enjoy going to the gym, watching movies and going shopping!