Aussie Hannah Green hopes Canadian caddie boosts chances at CPKC Open

CALGARY — Australian Hannah Green has high hopes that a Canadian connection can help her win one of her favourite golf tournaments.

Green commended her Canadian caddie Nate Blasko, of Kingston, Ont., for helping her take on the challenging conditions at Earl Grey Golf Club during Friday’s second round of the 2024 CPKC Canadian Women’s Open.

“He’s from the other side of the country, but (it would) be pretty cool for us to both win here,” said Green, who had five birdies and three bogeys during her round of 2-under 70.

After the completion of the afternoon play on Earl Grey’s par-72, 6,856-yard layout, Green ended up tied for second place with Korea’s Haeran Ryu at 5-under.

“It was tough again out there,” Green said. “There was some pretty strong wind gusts, especially our last few holes, so committing to the shot you were envisioning was kind of difficult. I’m kind of glad that I’m finished for Friday and I can go relax now.”

While Green was taking it easy, American Lauren Coughlin followed up the 68 she shot on Thursday by carding a 70 to take back the overall lead at 6-under.

“The front nine is where you’ve got to take advantage and you just try to hold on there on the back nine, especially with how windy it got,” said Coughlin, who had three birdies in her first five holes and just one bogey on the par-4, 422-yard 11th hole.

“I think I really only had one bad swing on the 11th tee. Other than that, I feel like I hit everything really, really solid all day.”

After finishing fifth in the LPGA’s Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings in 2018, Green was looking to hire a new caddie. That’s when Blasko entered the picture, she said.

“We both met when I was playing on the Symetra Tour, now Epson Tour,” explained Green, who’s currently sitting third behind Nelly Korda and Ayaka Furue in the LPGA’s season-long Race to the CME Globe points competition.

“I was looking for a caddie in the off-season and he was looking for a player.”

The partnership paid almost immediate dividends, as she made 19 of 23 cuts in 2019 and surpassed the $1 million mark in earnings while winning her first major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, then adding a victory at the Cambia Portland Classic.

“Our first event was together in Australia and then later that year we won KPMG together,” Green said. “Been together ever since.”

With Blasko on her bag at last year’s CPKC Women’s Open at Vancouver’s Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, Green finished in a tie for fourth to earn a payday of $117,507.

“I always really enjoy coming to Canada,” said Green, who will represent Australia in the women’s golf competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “I played well last year in Vancouver, so hopefully I can do a few better and get my hands on that big trophy.”

When she finished her round, Green didn’t even know that she was tied for first place at the time with Coughlin, who had just birdied her first hole.

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t like peeking at the leaderboard while out on the course.

“I’m definitely a leaderboard watcher,” said Green, who noticed that Jennifer Kupcho was ahead of her at one point before the American golfer struggled on her back nine and finished at 3-under after reaching 8-under at one point.

“The last time I probably saw a leaderboard, I would have been at 5-under and she was at 7. I just assumed she continued to play well.”

Also on Friday morning, Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., shot a round of 2-over 74. Her total score of 1-over left her in a tie for 26th place with nine other golfers, including Brooke Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont.

Leblanc made the cut at her national championship for the first time since 2016 when she finished in a tie for 14th place at nearby Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club.

“It’s our only tournament in Canada for the whole season, so I love being out here,” said Leblanc, who started her round with her lone birdie of the day on the Par 5, 550-yard opening hole. “It was a good start. I gave myself a lot of opportunities at the beginning and wasn’t able to make putts. Overall, I hit the ball pretty well. It’s just tough conditions out there.

“The greens are starting to get firmer and faster, so if you’re not in the fairway, it’s almost impossible for the ball to stay on the green.”

Henderson had a hot start on Friday with three birdies in her first four holes. She then reeled off 10 straight pars before ending with four straight bogeys.

“Just a tough finish,” said Henderson, who will head into the weekend tied with Leblanc as the top Canadians at 1-under. “It kind of stings right now.”

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp and Savannah Grewal, of Mississauga, Ont., are both at 3-over through two rounds and made the cut along with Ellie Szeryk (4-over) of London, Ont.

Vancouver’s Leah John shot 74 on Friday and finished the day at 5-over to miss the cut by one stroke. Fellow Canadians Michelle Xing, Katie Cranston, Lauren Kim and Monet Chun all missed the cut at 6-over as did Vanessa Borovilos (7-over), Brooke Rivers (9-over), Maddie Szeryk (12-over), Anna Huang (14-over), Yeji Kwon (15-over), Mary Parsons (16-over) and Brigitte Thibault (20-over).