CHASKA, Minn. – The weather got nasty at Hazeltine National on Thursday and leader Hannah Green struggled to keep dry and warm because she doesn’t own rain pants.
They’re noisy, she said, and baggy.
But that wasn’t her only problem.
“I only brought one jacket and I was freezing cold,” she said. “My caddy and I both really weren’t prepared for the rain. I thought it was going to come much later in the day after nine holes. Luckily there was a staff member from the course coming out with towels, otherwise I don’t know if I would have been able to keep hold of the club.”
LEADERBOARD: KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
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Green soldiered through, draining putt after putt to card a 4-under 68 and lead the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on a day when only 16 players broke par. The Aussie is playing her second year on the LPGA. Her best finish in a major came at the 2018 ANA Inspiration when she tied for 16th. Green hit only nine greens and six fairways in the opening round and took 23 putts. She holed a bunker shot for birdie on the par-5 seventh.
“I don’t really think I ever had like a tap-in putt for my par putts when I missed the green,” said Green. “Nearly every hole was a 6-footer. I made all of them.”
She leads by one over former Evian winner Hyo Joo Kim and Mel Reid. Ariya Jutanugarn, using driver for the first time in 2019, and 2018 KPMG winner Sung Hyun Park are among the notables at 2 under.
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Green happens to be staying in a house this week with Aussie legend Karrie Webb and two of her scholarship winners, Grace Kim and Becky Kay. They were the two fans in Green’s gallery wearing a yellow tutu, green tights and a blue cape. Webb’s scholarship winners enjoy the priceless opportunity to accompany her to a major championship.
In 2015, Green got the chance to travel to Lancaster, Pa., to watch Webb compete in the U.S. Women’s Open. It was the first professional tournament she ever attended, and she was wide-eyed coming into the media room to watch Webb’s press conference after the first round.
Now here she was four years later, sitting behind the microphone answering questions about a bogey-free first round.
“I didn’t really imagine for me to happen so quickly,” she said.
