THE ANNIKA DRIVEN BY GAINBRIDGE AT PELICAN

November 10, 2026

Melanie Green

Pelican Golf Club

Press Conference

MALLORY KINAHAN: All right, we are pleased to be joined By Melanie Green ahead of the 2026 The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.

This is sort of a home match for you. Doesn't happen too often with LPGA Tour players. What is your overall excitement for the week being so close to home?

MELANIE GREEN: Yeah, I mean, having lived down in Tampa for the last six years now has been such a blessing to me. Yeah, no, I'm very grateful for the fact that I left my house this morning to come here and I didn't have to leave a hotel room or anything like that.

So, yeah, no, I'm super excited. I will stay at the hotel this week just to make it feel more like a golf tournament. I'll probably go home Thursday afternoon after my round because I think I'm going to get the morning/afternoon wave. So I'll go make dinner with best friend and parents at the house and grill something, whatever.

So that will be it. I'm excited.

MALLORY KINAHAN: You had a really cool media day opportunity the Rays earlier this month. You just mentioned to me how you're a Rays fan. What was that experience like? Obviously the Rays then went on to the World Series. Just talk us through that opportunity and how cool it was to throw out the first pitch there.

MELANIE GREEN: Yeah, I did not grow up much of a baseball fan. That's probably going to get some hate, whatever. But, yeah, no, so I didn't have like a baseball team that I rooted for. Obviously being down here I was like, okay, let's do the Rays I guess. I'm stuck on the Bills and the Sabres. Sorry Bucs and Lightning.

But super great opportunity. My agent reached out and was like, hey, would this be something you're interested it? I was like, Heck yeah, let's do it. I love sports in general so it was an easy yes. You know, being able to chat with some of the players and just get to see their world a little bit was definitely an experience for sure.

MALLORY KINAHAN: Really cool. Last one from me before we open it up to the media here. Your rookie season obviously is coming to a close. How would you assess this year overall?

MELANIE GREEN: Rollercoaster. Yeah, no, it definitely had a few highs, bunch of lows it felt like. But definitely looking forward to even just how the last month has gone. Even though maybe the results haven't super great. Just how I am mentally just thinking about certain things and looking ahead to next year.

But obviously really excited about this week and trying to keep implementing some of the things that I feel like I've reminded of myself since just the foundation of how I thought about playing golf and all that stuff.

So, yeah, no, I'm really excited about this week. Definitely looking forward to having a bit of a fresh start next year.

Q. You just flew back from Japan, so what's been the highlight of literally seeing the world this year as a rookie on the LPGA Tour?

MELANIE GREEN: Yeah, I mean, I think the highlight is seeing the world. Not a lot of people get to do what I've had the opportunity to do, and so I'm very grateful and blessed, and I don't ever want to take what I do right now for granted.

So, yeah, no, to be able to literally travel across the world, you don't realize how far Asia is from here until you actually go to Asia. I give all the Asians large kudos for having to make that trip multiple times a year and just even being able to move over here and live that far away. Just the time difference for three weeks, just being able to talk to family and friends and stuff like that was like oh, my gosh. Then having to do it all the time, I give them a lot of kudos.

Yeah, no, it's awesome. Even just going to Mexico, Canada and seeing different countries and even different towns and cities across the U.S. and going to Europe and seeing different cultures, it just opens your eyes. Just moving from Medinah, New York, to USF you just realize there is such a bigger world out there. Just I guess to round out the edges of maybe thought processes and how you do things or how cultures are or whatever.

So it's good to have a broader range of how people think and their customs.

Q. Moving back to here in Tampa, with it being a relative home game, family and friends here this week?

MELANIE GREEN: Yeah, parents are flying in today. Let's see, best friend will be on the bag this week; super excited about that.

But, yeah, no, I'll have some friends make it out as well. Some people from out of town that will come.

So, yeah, I'm definitely going to have a few people cheering me on, so I'm excited about that.

Q. We talked about this a little bit at the Tampa Bay Rays media days. This is almost like a full circle moment for you. You were out here as a member of the USF golf team as almost like a junior reporter, and now you're here competing. How does that full circle moment feel for you from that student at USF to now playing here this week?

MELANIE GREEN: Yeah, so best friend couldn't get the day off today so she wasn't my teammate but she was at USF the year after I graduated, so we've actually become good friends through my best friend, who was still on the team at the time.

You know, so I had her come out, and it's just funny. We were talking about it and it is like a full circle a little bit. You know, just to be able to play the golf course from the tees that the pros are playing from, you know, to have the book and to -- just to have the full circle moment is really cool and we were talking about it.

Yeah, no, I don't really have obviously a whole lot of words. My brain a kind of fried. It's good. I'm excited. Just to literally go into dining, I know what it looks like in there, but not being able to go in there as a student-athlete but now being able to do it as a pro and just in the field is really cool.

Q. Last one from me: Tampa has a lot of history and legacy with LPGA players: Brittany Lincicome, Elizabeth Szokol, Brittany Altomare who are all Tampa residents who have played on the LPGA Tour. This is your rookie year and the first year as a Tampa Bay area resident playing on the LPGA Tour. What does it mean to you to almost have the baton passed to you as a Tampa Bay player representing Tampa Bay on the LPGA Tour?

MELANIE GREEN: Yeah, I never thought about it as a baton being passed but kind of a cool analogy. I've lived down here for, like I said, six years now. I'm so grateful. Going to USF was definitely from the Lord, and I really feel like that was exactly where I was supposed to be and this is where I feel like I'm supposed to be.

I'm grateful to be able to live down in Florida. The weather is perfect all the time. Get to see palm trees. It's paradise is what we used to call it at USF.

And to build the community that I had at USF and to live here is very special for me. You know, to feel like there is a baton being passed, I don't know, I don't plan on ever -- not ever, but I don't plan on leaving Tampa any time soon. It's a little more laid back. I will never go to Jupiter or West Palm. It's just very congested.

So I like the little more free. It's not necessarily like golf capital of the world, right, but it's good enough and the weather is awesome. Airport is awesome. A lot of great incentives that come with living in Tampa.

If there is a baton being passed, I hope I carry it well.

Q. As a rookie on the Tour having traveled the world, I'm curious, do you anticipate your schedule changing much next year? Will you be a little bit more picky about where you play? Do you still plan to go to Asia again? I know some of the LPGA players opted out; Nelly is the most famous one to do so. Curious, having that experience and traveling the world will you you be more selective in the coming years?

MELANIE GREEN: Yeah, I think rookies tend to have this mentality that they kind of got to play, right? I don't think anything wrong with that. I think as a rookie you kind of got to -- you're coming in completely flesh. You have no idea what any of the golf courses look like. That's something we all got to learn.

Obviously going back to the same golf courses you're already, you know, playing against the grain a little bit just because you're going in completely new, right? And so I guess having -- looking forward to next year and having a little bit of experience playing some of the golf courses, I guess you can kind of be a little bit more picky.

Did you play well? Did you not play well? You just didn't like the area, the golf course. Do I think that I'll probably play more or less of a full season? I mean, probably. I won't do more than four in a row probably. There is little things I did learn that I probably won't do next year just to not conserve my body but not break it down as much.

But will I go back to Asia? I mean, probably I will. They take extremely good care of us. They give us our flights, accommodations. I was definitely very grateful with how much they were willing and wanting to help.

So I would say that from a perspective of running a golf tournament I feel like they do a pretty phenomenal job. The only thing that will make me maybe not want to go back is the weather and they can't control that. It was really cold and really wet in Korea and Malaysia was really hot which was totally fine, and Japan was nice.

Yeah, no, I'll probably go back.

Q. We're delighted to have you here this week. You mentioned at the outset there are things you learned about your game that you're working on. Could you illuminate those things a little bit today?

MELANIE GREEN: Yeah, I think most of it is kind of just going back to fundamental things, foundational things. Yeah, I mean, just the basic thought process of using my legs more. Literally the smallest things that I think with just how involved it is out here it kind of just gets lost in the clouds, you know.

But, yeah, no, golf is played in the six inches between your ears and that's always something that's a battle for everybody. That's kind of something that I have to reteach myself over and over and over again.

But, yeah, just little things.

Q. I know you were too busy to watch the first match in the WTGL, but do you have any opinions on the league?

MELANIE GREEN: I'm going to be honest with you, I don't have enough knowledge about it or have watched enough to have much of an opinion about it.

I think it's kind of cool. I think it brings more people into the game of golf.

Q. Probably a younger crowd.

MELANIE GREEN: What's that?

Q. Probably a younger crowd.

MELANIE GREEN: Yeah, maybe. I think it brings a little bit more attraction to golf, which I am not opposed to. If people end up liking golf because of WTGL and get into the sport I think it's only good.

It's not like much is changing. They still got to hit the golf ball. I'm a fan of it.

MALLORY KINAHAN: I think we're all set. Thanks so much for your time, Melanie.

MELANIE GREEN: Thank you.