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CANADIAN PACIFIC WOMEN'S OPENAugust 20, 2014Brooke HendersonLONDON, ONTARIO THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everybody. I'd like to welcome the No. 2 amateur player, Brooke Henderson, into the interview room today. Brooke, you've been referred to as the "face of amateur golf in Canada." How does that feel and does that give you any pressure? BROOKE HENDERSON: It's an amazing compliment, and I take it that way. Of course there is a little bit of pressure, but I enjoy it. I love a challenge, and I'm just playing my best every day and trying to improve for myself and along the way if I can represent my country and Team Canada, I'm really happy to do that. Q. You've been playing some pretty good golf lately, including a T10 at the U.S. Women's Open this year. It brings up the inevitable questions about what's next for you. How do you get your next challenge? BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, it's been an amazing summer. I shot my lowest score of 62 leading into the U.S. Open at the Porter Cup, and was able to take a win there. I've won quite a few tournaments this summer which has been great and helped my ranking and helped my confidence a lot. Moving forward, I'm still committed to the University of Florida. In the future I'd love to play on the LPGA Tour and have a career here. Q. So you finished second at the U.S. Women's Amateur. That was now two weeks ago, correct? So what did you learn from that experience and what do you take away going forward? BROOKE HENDERSON: It was such an amazing experience.  Such a beautiful golf course, and USGA runs such amazing events and always so much fun to be a part of. It was a little bit disappointing on Sunday finishing second, but Kristen played extremely well, and I thank the lord for the opportunity to be there and to have a chance to win and a chance to contend for the title. Q. Now you have a great opportunity here this week. What are your goals heading into this tournament? BROOKE HENDERSON: Definitely first step is to make the cut, and after that, hopefully climb up the leaderboard a little bit. This is such an awesome event with such amazing Canadian support, and having some teammates here and my national coach and a lot of family and friends here too, because it's just seven hours away, which is pretty close to home for a lot of my tournaments. I'm just really excited and hopefully I'll play good. Q. You mentioned home, you mentioned your family and friends, is it true there is a Brooke Henderson Day in your hometown of Smith? BROOKE HENDERSON:  That's correct. October 6 is Brooke Henderson Day. Q. How long has that been going on? BROOKE HENDERSON: Last year was the first year. It was a little bit shocking when the Mayor came up to me and said, hey, there is going to be a day named after you. But it's pretty cool. My hometown is so awesome. It's small. Only 9,000 people, but the support I get is amazing. Q. You were also, being from Canada, hockey is obviously a sport that you all play. You were a hockey goalie; is that correct? BROOKE HENDERSON: That is. Q. Do you still play at all or is it all golf now for you? BROOKE HENDERSON: It's all golf now. My first year on the national team I was traveling a lot more and focusing on more of my golf game. So I decided it was time to pack the sticks away, but I had so much fun playing. It was such an amazing experience. I was a goalie, and you face a lot of heat in that position and you learn to handle stress. And I think that's really helped me out on the golf course. Q. What do you make of the pressure or whatever comes with the expectations of playing a tournament that is 7 hours from home and is in Canada? BROOKE HENDERSON: Definitely there is pressure. But I'm excited to be able to play for my family and friends and show them what I can do. They're out there cheering for me and I know every shot they're going to be happy either way. Q. This is the third time you've played in this tournament the last two years and missed the cut both times. I think last year by one shot though. Do you take anything from those experiences this week to be more successful perhaps? BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, definitely. I've missed the cut in this event twice, but in the meantime I've played in three majors and made the cut each time, and playing in the U.S. Open this year and finishing tied for tenth was definitely a huge confidence booster. Since my first time here I was 14 and pretty nervous all week getting to meet the big pros and playing on the big stage. But I've become a lot more comfortable and gotten to know the pros a little bit better, which is nice. Q. How many times have you played in the last couple weeks coming in? You've been around this area for the last month really, right? BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I've been really busy all summer with a lot of tournaments. Before the U.S. Am two weeks ago I was playing at FireRock just down the road from here, and I was able to come away with a win at the PGA of Canada Championship with a score of 13‑under for two days, and I got to play with Alena Sharp who also like Lorie Kane has been very supportive of my game and young golfers coming up. Q. Lorie Kane had mentioned you sought advice from her. What is some of the best advice she's given you about your career in general and playing at this tournament? BROOKE HENDERSON: Lorie Kane is an amazing role model for me. So supportive. Even this week she's come down and chatted with me a couple of times just about my future and how I should be playing this week and what I should be expecting. She's a huge role model for all Canadians and she means a lot to me. I love just being able to talk to her and just gaining from her experience. Q. You were asked this a little bit earlier. Lorie Kane's career is a little on the down side. She hasn't won for a while. There doesn't seem at least to me to be any other Canadian women moving their way up the ladder, other than yourself, it appears. Do you feel that pressure that I've got to be the next Canadian star on the LPGA Tour? BROOKE HENDERSON: Definitely I think the game in Canada is growing, and there are some young pros coming up like Sue Kim, and Jennifer Kirby, and Rebecca Lee Bentham that are great players and have full status on the Tour this year. Maybe they haven't played as well as they would have liked, but I think the future is bright for them. I, myself, like I said, I'm just trying to improve every day and trying to get better. I see the pressure and I hear it. I hear that I'm the face of Canadian golf, but I'm just trying to improve and drying to get better, and if I can represent my country, I'm happy. Q. Who is on the bag for you this week? It's normally your sister, isn't it? BROOKE HENDERSON: Yes. Normally my sister's on the bag, but she's going to go to Q‑school next week, so she's practicing up and getting ready for that. This week I have a great family friend who has caddied for me four or five times this summer, so he's experienced also. He's great. He knows a lot about the game and he's a good golfer himself. Q. You've done a lot this summer. Is it starting to feel like a long season? BROOKE HENDERSON: It's been a busy summer, but it's a long winter in Canada, so I'm happy to get as many tournaments in as I can. After this I have the World Amateur, but then I'm back to school. Yeah, it's been such an amazing summer. Q. I don't know how much you know about the course, but the winter in Ontario wasn't great around here. What do you think of the course now after it's gotten refurbished over the past couple months? BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, it's been a really harsh winter for a lot of Canadian golf courses, especially in Ontario. I played this course two or three weeks ago and the greens were a little bit rough. But coming into this week I was pleasantly surprised of how well they were rolling. I can't imagine the amount of work they must have put in to get this course in such immaculate condition. The course itself is so beautiful, and I've never seen fairways, and the practice facilities of this caliber. I'm really excited to play. Q. Brooke, you're one of the many young players and probably the only sport, women's golf, that has so many young players that are so strong and in many cases win tournaments against high‑caliber competition. As a young player, what kind of support system do you have? It must be difficult stepping in there against some of the top players in the world and doing as well as you do. It is in a way a phenomenon. What kind of support system do you have? Who do you lean on? Do you have specialists? BROOKE HENDERSON: With the National Team, I have an amazing support team, I have two coaches, Tristan Mullally and Ann Carroll who help me out with my golf game and life in general. I have a fitness trainer, Jason A. Glass who works me really hard and works the whole team very hard. Greg Redman, a physiotherapist, Nicole Springle our nutritionist, and Adrian (Indiscernible), our psychologist. So it's an amazing support system there. I also have parents that have given up so much and sacrificed a lot in their lives to allow me to follow my golfing endeavors and follow my dreams. Q. Is that a necessity today for young players? Do you have to have that kind of support system? BROOKE HENDERSON: I think so. The game is growing and players are getting better and better. I think the stronger your support system, the better you can‑‑ you don't have to focus on things outside of golf. You can just focus on your golf game itself. Q. You'll hear the history. 40 years since a Canadian won it. You've played in majors. Does this feel like a major to you being that it's here and that history? BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, definitely. It's very close to home. It's our National Championship. So it's very exciting. It used to be a major back in the day, and to me it still is one. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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