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THORNBERRY CREEK LPGA CLASSIC

July 4, 2017

Brooke Henderson

Oneida, Wisconsin

THE MODERATOR: It's my pleasure to welcome in Brooke Henderson. She's a four-time LPGA winner and major champion. She's Rolex Rankings No. 8. How are you feeling today?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, good. I'm happy to be here. I saw the course for the first time, and it's in great shape, so it should be setting up for a great week starting on Thursday, and having a win a few weeks ago and then playing so well last week at the major, I feel like my game is in a great spot, so I'm looking forward to the opportunity to hopefully go out and shoot some low numbers and be at the top again.

THE MODERATOR: This is a new event, the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. What does it mean to you to be involved with the first tournament?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, it's really exciting to have a new event on the schedule and especially here in Wisconsin. I haven't spent a ton of time here before, but when I was here, it was beautiful, so I'm really happy to be back. My agent has been talking about this tournament almost all year, so I'm excited to finally be here and get started.

THE MODERATOR: You mentioned your last two starts were a win at Meijer and then a runner-up finish on Sunday at KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Do you kind of feel like you're really hitting your stride this season?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I kind of got off to a little bit of a shaky start, not really getting the results that I was looking for, but the last two weeks I feel like my game is in great shape and my confidence is back up. I kind of feel like I'm riding great momentum and it's a great time of the season to do that with three majors left, the U.S. Open next week, this week being a new event. It would be really nice to get my next win in the next couple weeks.

THE MODERATOR: Last year your first win of the season came in your 15th event. Same thing for this year. Do you kind of feel like it takes you maybe a little bit, a couple starts to kind of get in your game?

BROOKE HENDERSON: You know, I never really thought about it that way, but when that stat came up a few weeks ago, I was kind of amazed, and maybe that is -- and I think these type of courses suit my game a little bit better. The first couple holes out here are pretty tight, very tree-lined, and I feel like that suits my game the best, and I like summer weather, and all of my wins have kind of come in these few months, so hopefully this course will set up for that, and like I said, just get off to a fast start on Thursday and see what happens.

THE MODERATOR: You got a chance to play a couple holes today. What did you think of this golf course?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, you know, it's in great shape, and you definitely have to be strategic off the tee and hit it to spots, specific spots in the fairway and then specific spots on the greens. You know, I think the scores will be pretty low, as long as the conditions allow, and so hopefully, like I said, get off to that fast start, shoot under par on Thursday and then just keep riding the wave through Sunday.

Q. Talk about coming off the major last week; what was your thinking in deciding to play this week?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, you know, being a new event, I was excited to come and see what it was all about, and you know, as well, I like to play a lot in the summer and keep my game going. I won a couple weeks ago, I did take a week off, but I was pretty busy doing other commitments, and then went straight into the major, played well, and so I'm hoping that I can play well this week and continue that on over the next few weeks and especially at the U.S. Open next week. Kind of just trying to ride momentum and keep my game in great shape, and I know some players like to take the week off and practice a lot, maybe rest a little bit more than they do during a tournament week, but for me I'm going to try and take it a little bit easier but also keep my game really sharp.

Q. Talk about the state of the game on the LPGA, more tournaments, getting more television, everything about it seems to be really on the upswing?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, absolutely, everything is. The players are getting stronger. Until, I guess, Arkansas we didn't have a repeat winner this year, which is pretty incredible, and so I guess it just kind of shows that everybody is at the top of their game. They're very strong, and it's continuing to grow all around the world, which is really cool. And like you said, four new events this year, higher purses, and more media coverage, more fans, everything is on the upswing, which is amazing, and I'm really glad that I can be a part of that and hopefully see it grow for the rest of my career.

Q. Do you have any experience playing in Wisconsin?
BROOKE HENDERSON: No. The time before I was just here, I guess, basically overnight but got to see a little bit of it. But no, this is my first course that I've played, and I've just watched others on TV.

Q. Do you know much about Green Bay, much about the Packers or anything like that?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, driving by the stadium last night, and I guess the pro-am party is there tonight, so I'm excited to go to that and kind of take in some of the history, Vince Lombardi, reading some of his quotes, and just reading so much about their history and how amazing they were, and I think everybody here is kind of taking some motivation from them.

Q. When did you kind of have that aha moment where you knew that you could compete out here?
BROOKE HENDERSON: When I was 14 I became the youngest winner of a professional event ever, and I got my invite to the Canadian Open for the first time, and that was my first experience playing against the LPGA pros, and I kind of realized then that if I kept working hard and got some breaks along the way that maybe I could make this my career, and that was a big turning point, I guess, in my young career, kind of showing me that this could be a great possibility. And then coming out here as a 17 year old with no status but just kind of playing my way, Monday qualifiers, sponsor's exemptions, and just kind of taking every opportunity that I could to be a part of this, and then finally winning in Portland 2015, again, 17 years old and getting my LPGA Tour card, that was like, I really belong out here. I can compete. And then really been driving me, remembering that experience, and I remember hoisting my first trophy when all my dreams came true, being an LPGA player, and now I have four wins, and being in contention like last week gives me a lot of confidence.

Q. What's it like to have your sister on the bag? Talk about that relationship between the two on the course.
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, she's my best friend, my sister, my caddie. She works extremely hard for me on and off the course, and I'm very grateful to have her by my side all the time and to have somebody that you can trust and somebody that thinks very similar to the way I do. I think probably the best thing about having her there all the time is that she knows when I don't want to say anything at all, and she knows what to say to kind of get me going again. She just really understands my feelings and my emotions on and off the course, and she can really support that, which I don't think I would have had the success so far if I didn't have somebody so close to me by my side.

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