Hannah Green signed her scorecard after Friday’s second round at the CPKC Women’s Open and wandered into the media centre for an interview, the sort of obligation that you don’t mind since it typically means your name is near the top of the leaderboard.
If she’d arrived just a few minutes sooner, Green would have been able to catch the coverage as the rest of Australia’s Olympians boated down the Seine River in Paris as part of the opening ceremonies for the 2024 Summer Games.
That will, for Green and 22 others in the field this week at Earl Grey Golf Club in Calgary, be the next stop. The women’s golf competition in Paris is set for Aug. 7-10.
“I follow all the other Aussie athletes and they’ve been getting all the gear and some of them are competing soon,” said Green, who is just one shot off the lead at the midway mark of the CPKC Women’s Open. “Seeing that on social media, it kind of makes me wish I was at the opening ceremony right now. But obviously, I’ve got places to be.”
Places to be.
Birdies to make.
A title to contend for.
“My mind, or some of my mind, is over there, as well,” admitted Minjee Lee, who will also represent Australia in Paris. “I’m looking forward to when we get over there and start playing, too.”
“It’s still a little surreal,” added Rose Zhang, reminded after Friday’s round that she’ll soon be joining Team USA in France. “I think I will have to go there and actually experience myself what it’s like to be an Olympian to even think about it. I’ve watched the opening ceremonies for basically every Olympics. So this feels kind of like, ‘Oh, the Olympics are happening!’ ”
Indeed, they are.
Outside of Paris, the second-largest contingent of 2024 Summer Olympians might currently be found in Calgary, trying to steer their shots between the trees at Earl Grey. It speaks to the stellar reputation of the CPKC Women’s Open that they were adamant about teeing it up this week.
There are currently four Olympians inside the tournament Top-10 — Green and Lilian Vu of the U.S. both at 5-under 139, and Zhang and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko at 3-under.
Canadian fan favourite Brooke Henderson is also among those who will soon be going for gold in France. As a hot-air ballon cauldron was taking flight Friday, she had just tapped in a par putt on the sixth hole.
For Ko, missing the opening ceremonies is nothing new — and there’s no sense messing with what has been a recipe for success.
Ko will be aiming in Paris to complete an impressive set. She was the Olympic silver medallist in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. She was back on the podium in Tokyo in 2021, earning bronze.
“I think, as golfers, we’re very fortunate to have 30-plus events on the schedule and five majors,” said Ko, already a three-time champion of the CPKC Women’s Open and now just three shots off the lead in Calgary. “So we have the opportunity to compete at a high level every week. I know for some Olympians and some athletes, the Olympics is their pinnacle event and then they might have to go and, like, run errands and do other jobs. So I think as golfers, we’re very lucky to have these kind of opportunities.”
For these Olympians, there’s also an opportunity to build momentum with a big weekend at Earl Grey.
A win would be a good way to warm up.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind that at all,” Green beamed.