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KINGSMILL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY JTBCMay 13, 2015Brooke HendersonWILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA MODERATOR: Good afternoon. I would like to welcome Brooke Henderson into the media room. Brooke, the last three weeks have been quite an adventure for you, haven't they? A lot of travel. You finished third at Swinging Skirts; 13th in Texas two weeks ago; and last week you caddied for your sister at a Symetra event. Can you tell us a little bit about your travel experience. BROOKE HENDERSON: It's been so much fun. And it has been a lot of travel, especially flying from San Francisco and playing the Monday qualifier in Texas. I got a lot of questions about why would I do it, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I had a lot of confidence coming off San Francisco finishing third and playing in the final group on Saturday and Sunday and playing with people I grew up admiring. So it's been a great last couple weeks, and I'm excited for this week, too. MODERATOR: So how has life changed for you over the last three, four weeks? So you feel any different? BROOKE HENDERSON: No, I don't feel different at all. My game is good right now. I just to have stay patient and see what happens. You know, couple shots on the weekends the last few weeks and things could have been a little bit different, so I'm gaining experience and gaining knowledge, and hopefully I can use that in the future. MODERATOR: You caddied for your sister last week. Can you talk a little bit about that. How long was that planned out? Did you know about it when you were going through the travels and before the sponsor invites, et cetera? BROOKE HENDERSON: I didn't really know about it, but my dad said, Hey do you want to come down? I'm going down to see Brit. I hadn't seen her for about four weeks at that point. We're really close. She's one of my best friends. We play very similar, and we have of fun together when we're off the course, too. When I had the opportunity to go see her I was like, Yeah, for sure. Let's go do that. I up carrying the bag last week. She had a little bit of an off week, but she's been playing really well. Her game has been in a good spot. She just has to get through a couple things mentally and physically, and I think you'll see her winning on the Symetra Tour. MODERATOR:  You've been playing very well yourself. Were you expecting to have as good of a start to your pro career as you have so far? BROOKE HENDERSON: I think everybody hopes for a great start. I am still a long way from where I want to be, but I am really excited with the last couple finishes. Like I said, I am really excited for this week and my next couple weeks, because I'll be out here on the LPGA Tour. MODERATOR: Well you're getting quite a bit of attention lately, especially from the Canadian community. It's been 14 years since a Canadian has won on the LPGA Tour. So you feel any pressure trying to live up to Canada's expectations for you now? BROOKE HENDERSON: Pressure can be a good thing. Means you're doing something right, and that's exciting. Lorie Kane and Alena Sharp and a lot of the Canadian pros that have been out here for a little whilechasing that win ‑‑ I think it was Lorie probably 14 years ago. MODERATOR: It was. BROOKE HENDERSON: But we're all chasing that win and trying to get better as people and golfers and try to move up the world rankings. Golf in Canada is really growing over the last couple years. You can really see on the amateur level. Last summer, Corey Connors and I both on the national team and both finalists at the U.S. AM in men's and women's. That hadn't been done in a really long time either. Moving up the world rankings last year, all the members of my national team were inside the top 100 in the world. I think that has a lot to do with the coaching change that happened just three or four years ago. Tristan Mullally came over from Ireland and has been a big influence on all of us in Canada. I think the fans and all the support of Canadians has really helped out as well. MODERATOR: Questions for Brooke? Q. Did the success you had last year at Pinehurst and also in the Women's Amateur kind of fuel the confidence that you brought into this season? How much impact did those finishes have on your decision to turn pro? BROOKE HENDERSON: Definitely those were great weeks. Leading into the Women's Open at Pinehurst I shot my lowest round as of yet, 62, to win on Sunday at the Porter Cup. Then U.S. Open where I finished tied tenth it was a huge confidence booster for me. And just playing on the LPGA Tour four times last summer was great. And playing in two majors and making all four cuts last year definitely led me to where I am right now. Then finishing my amateur career off as the No. 1 amateur in the world is definitely something that led me to turn pro as well. I knew my game was really good and I was excited to move on to the next level. Q. Could you just run through your schedule from when you left Dallas to when you arrived here? BROOKE HENDERSON: Sure. So I flew back to Toronto, Ontario for a media day for the ManuLife Classic. So I did media day on Monday, and Monday night I drove back home to my hometown and slept in my own bed for one night. Then my dad and I hoped in a car and drove from Smith Falls, Ontario to Greenwood South Carolina, which is just over a 15‑hour drive. Arrived late that night to see my little sister Brittany. She was happy to see us and we were happy to see her, too. Then I caddied for her for I guess a couple practice rounds and then two days, and unfortunately she missed the cut. But hung out in South Carolina and now I'm here. Q. Do you feel rested enough to compete on the LPGA having done all that? BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, for sure. I was only caddying, so I was practicing not as much as I would normally, but I was on the golf course all day so I got a good feel. Caddying for my little sister is a really unique thing, because we play similar in a way and we play very different in a way, too. Every time I get up to a shot I have to visualize it first. So she asks me questions and I have to tell her exactly what I really see. I think it really helps in my own game now that it's really clear in my mind. It's one thing to think about it, but another thing to have to describe it to somebody else. I think that has really helped. Reading greens is another thing. I'm very much a feel player in terms of reading greens and my swing. And reading putts, more times I'm on a green and more times I have to be able to point or describe how it's going to enter the hole, I think that's been very beneficial to my game. Last summer I caddied for my little sister and first stage of Q‑School, and the next week I‑‑ or the tournament finished on Sunday and I flew to Japan the next day and played the World Am was world individual there. So I think coming off caddying and playing the next week has really added a lot to my game. Q. Can you give us your schedule for the next couple months, the events you know you'll play and what you had hoped to get into or maybe qualify to get into? BROOKE HENDERSON: I have four exemptions in a row as after this week, which is super exciting. One is ShopRite in two weeks in New Jersey. Be my first to Atlantic City, so I'm really excited. Next stop is ManuLife in Toronto. So I'll have tons of Canadian support, and family and friends from Smith Falls are planning to make the trip up to watch me play. I'm really excited for that. Canadian fans are awesome and clap for everything, even though it might not be a good shot. Then after that, KPMG, which is a major. I'm very fortunate to be able to play there, and I have to take advantage of my opportunities. Q. You mentioned patient earlier. Those of us who are old aren't very patient. How about when you're a teenager? How difficult is it to have that patience, to have been so close and to have not broken through yet? Are you a generally patient person? BROOKE HENDERSON: It's definitely something that I've worked at over the last couple years, and I'll continue to work on for the rest of my life. As I mentioned before, my game is right there. I'm very close. I just have to remain patient. Everything happens for a reason. I'm just waiting for my turn. Q. How much of a test of stamina and patience of the layover at the San Francisco airport? I don't know how much sleep you got. And then the qualifier stretched into Tuesday, correct? BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah. That's correct, yes. Yeah, it was a long couple days. But as I also previous mentioned, it was a huge confidence booster playing on Sunday and I was really high on adrenaline. I was able to sleep a little bit on the plane and in the airport going to Dallas, which was a good thing, because like you mentioned, it was a long Monday afternoon. We had a rain delay and had to come back early on Tuesday morning. I was in a couple holes of playoffs to get my spot into the event. But lots of adrenaline, and then I was able to catch up on my rest for the remainder of the week. MODERATOR: Any other questions for Brooke? Thanks for joining us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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