What they said: Nathan Green

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JOHN BUSH: We would like to welcome Nathan Green into the interview room after a 6-under par 67. Nathan, a great start to the tournament, if we can get some comments.

NATHAN GREEN: Yes, it was pretty unexpected. That's the way it's been the last three or four months. I will have a really good round, it sort of comes out of nowhere. That's the way it was today. That's the way it was today, I was the only guy that couldn't get it down the hill on 1. Next hole, I started hitting it pretty short. I got up and down and made a 15-footer there for par. Made about a 10-footer on the second for birdie. So I sort of felt like I sort of picked up two shots fairly early. I could have been easily 1-over. I just played steady. I can't remember I birdied. I birdied 7. 8, I was lucky to make. I hit a girl with my second shot from the par-3, after trying to chip out. Lucky I got up and down for a bogey there. Just steady after that. I hit some anxious drives toward the end. I sort of got away with them. I made a few putts. There was one pretty makeable putt that I missed. At the end of the day it was a steady round. I was on 17, I couldn't get home there, managed to get up and down for par. I got pretty much out of the round as I could, so I'm happy with it.

JOHN BUSH: Questions?

Q. Can you recount 8?

NATHAN GREEN: My foot slipped off the tee, I pulled it left, it sort of hit the bank and went down the hill and it was just in the hazard. I had to swing through trees to get at it and there were shrubs to get at it. I thought I could move it 10 yards to the left and give myself an easier chip. I shot it down and it went straight left up to the back left to where everyone was sitting. It looked like it was going to hit this young girl in the head, and it ended up catching her on the arm and sort of ricocheted five yards left. It definitely saved me a shot or two.

Q. Then got up and down for 4?

NATHAN GREEN: Got up and down for 4. If I hadn't hit anyone I would be looking at an unplayable, and I could still be there. That's the stuff I wasn't doing much at all last year. If I had a slightly good break like that, I wouldn't make the most of it. I wouldn't manage to get it up and down. The rest of the rounds I was hitting a couple of greens. I hit a couple fairly close on the backside there and I made birdies.

Q. What about 1, you hit it?

NATHAN GREEN: I hit a reasonably good drive I thought, and I was still 10 yards from getting down over the ledge. I'm hitting about a 4-iron, and Troy Matteson is flicking a wedge from the second fairway. It's probably a slightly tougher course for a shorter hitter, but it still gives you a chance. There is enough short holes, if you are relying on your wedge game, if your wedge game is good, you can make enough birdies out there. It would be nice to hitting another 15 yards further here; 20 yards carry anyway to give yourself shorter shots in.

Q. On 17, what did you have left and what was the line you took?

NATHAN GREEN: 17, I think it's a different wind than what we starting the round with. It was more to the right off the tee. I had 230 maybe to the front. It was 250 yards in. I hit a reasonable good 3-wood and it still carried 10 yard short and got up and down.

Q. Side the hill short?

NATHAN GREEN: Side of the hill short, yes. It wasn't too bad. It was a reasonable up and down.

Q. You weren't posing over that 3-wood, were you?

NATHAN GREEN: I wasn't. I knew with just a little hesitation I sort of popped it just a little bit right. I generally hit it fairly low. This one popped up in the air, which was the last thing I wanted to do. It was just a few holes. Troy had a long iron in there as well. He hit it pretty close. The last hole as well they say you should play down to the right. It is almost impossible to hit the fairway on your second shot because you are hitting it on the big side hill slope about 120 yards short of the green. It's a little bit different. Especially different for the first two practice rounds that I have had. It's an entirely different course. But everything set up perfect. The greens are great. You just got to try to keep control of it off the tee. That's sort of my big issue is just getting it in play.

Q. If you hadn't hit the girl, where would it have finished?

NATHAN GREEN: Sort of well along left of the green over in some long -- that long stuff, I'd say.

Q. The hazard again?

NATHAN GREEN: Well, I was sort of short left of the green. It came out 40 degrees left of the target. It was going hard and low and it was heading towards the 9th tee. I'm not sure what's out there. But I left it a good size away. I'm not sure where it would have gone. Even after I hit it, I was still 30 or 40 yards from the green.

Q. Did you compensate her?

NATHAN GREEN: Yes, I gave her the ball and the glove.

Q. Seriously, how many spectators were there?

NATHAN GREEN: There were 10. I'm sort of glad in a way. As soon as it came out, I actually said sorry while the ball is still on the club face. I felt it shutting down. Even Troy said, you said sorry before you even hit that. I shot down. I was going straight for her head, the two girls sitting there. They must have just ducked the last second, and I just caught her on the top of arm. It wasn't good at all.

Q. The two girls in front ducked and you got the girl behind?

NATHAN GREEN: No, actually got the front ones. There was a few backstops there. I was probably going to be safe anyway.

Q. Best bogey of the year by far?

NATHAN GREEN: Yes.

Q. Any guess what you might have made?

NATHAN GREEN: Probably double at best. It would have been probably unplayable. It would have been probably double or triple.

Q. What club did you say you used?

NATHAN GREEN: 6-iron off the tee and tried to chip it in with a lob-wedge, like I said, I shot it straight down. It went I like a rocket straight left.

Q. The pin was back left, right?

NATHAN GREEN: Pin back left. The only line I had on back swing through the trees was hit it to the back left-hand corner of the green. I was aiming left edge of the green and it came out 20 yards left of that and hard and low. I'm not sure if you saw where are parking the vans. I ended up just near where they are parking so I would have been another 40 yards passed that.

Q. Did the girl follow you to the 9th tee or stay safe?

NATHAN GREEN: She thought she would try her luck with the next group. She wasn't going to follow me around any longer.

Q. Nathan, you said this round was pretty unexpected, what were your expectations?

NATHAN GREEN: I just don't have expectations anymore. I want to play well, but I'm just so -- I'm not inconsistent, but it's just good and bad and hit and miss. So I just go out there and do the best I can. And if it's good, it's good. Today it was. My problem is sort of keeping a little bit of consistency and playing well for four days on a regular basis. No expectations here. I've never played here before this week. It seems like one of those courses, the greens are tough to get used to. I think there is so much movement on the fairways and on the whole in general, with the greens, the putt can look reasonably flattish. It's tough to get your bearings at such elevation changes, I think. I think the guys that have been here have a definite advantage. I just had one of those days where I just didn't make too many mistakes and that's it. But not really any expectations this week.

Q. Were there any putts that eluded you, or did you read the greens?

NATHAN GREEN: I read the greens. There is a couple. The putt on the last, sort of downhill, but into the green, you don't get that very often. You]re sort of guessing the speed. I ran it four feet passed. It was a good putt, but I just misjudged the speed. Besides that, my speed was good all day. The first par-5 is 6 yards off left-hand edge and holed it just off the left side of the front bunker and it rolled down the hill. It's tough to chip on a couple of putts. It can make you look really silly because of the grain and the slope.

JOHN BUSH: Let's go through the last 5 birdies.

NATHAN GREEN: Par-5, ninth, fairly good drive, still well on top of the hill, I couldn't get home. I hit 3-wood 20 yards short and hit a good chip to about three feet passed the hole. 11, I hit a reasonably poor shot trying to ride it on the breeze, and blocked it. I saw Troy Matteson's putt come from the other way. It did exactly the opposite of what I thought my putt would do. I sort of went with that. I putted it a foot outside left and it went a foot outside right and made it, 25 feet. 13, I hit a driver, 120 yards in, hit a wedge in and got a flier and got about 5 feet away. Another one. 14, reasonable good drive, I hit it to about two feet. 16, hit a good drive up left-hand fairway and put it about ten feet, and made it. I hit a good putt.

Q. You had some success at Sony?

NATHAN GREEN: I enjoy coming here for the first round of the year. It breaks up the trip to the U.S. It's a 10 hour flight here, little time difference. It's a nice easy relaxed way to start the year. I never played Sony before this. Sony is a great course. Everyone is in good spirits. It's a good time.

JOHN BUSH: Thanks, for coming by.

Transcript courtesy of sportstranscripts.com.