The 23-year-old tells Golf Australia magazine how her emotional victory at Hazeltine changed her life, shares her Olympic ambitions and explains how the women’s game has changed since her introduction to the sport in the mid-2000s.

What did winning the Greg Norman Medal mean to you?

Just to be recognised by all the people on the panel that do give votes was pretty cool. Winning a major would hopefully get you the Greg Norman Medal – but it was tough competition, and with all the Australian guys winning this year, I think all of us girls need to really go well to have a shot at it this year. It was awesome to win after Minjee (Lee) and have two females in the last two years win. It’s pretty cool. Both of us being from Western Australia, too, is awesome. We’re pretty far away over there but we do have great coaches to work with and we don’t take anything for granted. We do obviously have the WA Institute of Sport but golf isn’t included and I know NSW and Victoria have big programs with their golf there.

How has the women’s game changed since you started playing?

Well, when I was playing junior golf, we actually didn’t have golf clothes. To now see all the major brands making stuff for little kids is great. Even just the inclusion at golf clubs, where girls and women can now play on Sundays is also great. Just even having more people to play with … I didn’t have too many kids growing up that I could play with when I first got into the game.

“When I was playing junior golf, we actually didn’t have golf clothes. To now see all the major brands making stuff for little kids is great.” – Hannah Green

Winning the Women’s US PGA Championship last year … must have been a life-changer?

Oh, it’s life changing. I don’t think I would be having this much attention if I didn’t win last year. It’s definitely been a big whirlwind of a year but I’ve loved it. It’s great to be able to promote golf and get it out there a little bit more. Winning the major has certainly helped that, for females at least, because the men always get pretty well recognised.

Can you speak about your Olympic ambitions?

Yeah I really hope that I can get into that team. It would hopefully be Minjee and I. The qualification cut-off dates have obviously moved, but so far I’m looking pretty good. My game’s feeling alright, so hopefully I can just let the golf do the talking and it will speak for itself.

What other sports are you passionate about?

I played tennis and did swimming before taking up golf. I miss them both. I’ve played tennis a couple of times recently but I’m very, very rusty (laughs). It’s easy to pick up once you’ve played a lot, but you need to keep playing for it to be any good.