The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word TREVINO
T
R
E
V
I
N
O
More clues leading to the result TREVINO
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "He might recall playing one green" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case he might recall playing one green = trevino.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.