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CANADIAN PACIFIC WOMEN'S OPEN

August 22, 2017

Brooke Henderson

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

THE MODERATOR: Brooke, how does it feel being back in Canada and teeing it up so close to home?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, it's amazing. I've been looking forward to this week ever since I heard this tournament was coming to Ottawa. It's still an hour away, but I have so many fans in the Ottawa area and Smiths Falls that are going to come up.

It's such an amazing opportunity for me to be able to play at home in our nation's capital, Canada's 150th anniversary. CP, I'm a very proud ambassador of them, and for them to support this event as well. Everything's kind of coming together. I'm also a member here at this Ottawa Hunt Club, so everything's kind of the perfect fit. I'm really looking forward to four days of competition, and hopefully I can get off to a fast start, and then I can use the enthusiasm and momentum from all the fans and propel me the rest of the week. I'm super excited and can't wait to get started.

THE MODERATOR: As a CP ambassador, what's it like to be heavily involved in this tournament, especially with the charitable aspects of the tournament?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Absolutely. I'm very proud to be a partner with them. For this event they do so much good for the local communities. This year they're really focusing on CHEO and CP Has Heart, I was able to go there last Friday to the hospital and kind of visit some of the kids and some of the patients. It's kind of hard to see that sometimes, but when they put the smile on their face, it really put one on mine.

They do so much good here and they're raising so much money and awareness for it, that hopefully I can make four birdies on hole number 15 and give dollars 20,000 to the hospital. And you know, Xander who is the child ambassador this week, he's so cute and he's so amazing. He'll be around all week. Hopefully a lot of people get a chance to meet him.

THE MODERATOR: Only one Canadian has ever won this event. What would it mean to you to be the one holding the trophy on Sunday?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, this championship isn't a major anymore. But for us Canadians, it really is. You know, this is a tournament that I would love to hoist that trophy, and especially here in Ottawa. And I know it will be very difficult for any one of us to win. This is one of the strongest fields of the year. There's 150 golfers that are trying to win that trophy. So for me to do it, I'm going to have to get some good breaks, I'm going to have to play my best, and hopefully everything will go my way.

But I'm just really excited for the opportunity to play in front of so many incredible fans that have supported me when I'm all around the world.

Q. One win already this season. How do you feel about your game heading into this week?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, it's been a little bit of an up-and-down year, but June was a great month for me. I won Meijer, and that gave me a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum for the rest of the year. Then going into KPMG PGA, where I won last year and that was such a special week for me. Then to come up just so short on that last putt was kind of heartbreaking a little bit.

But second in a major championship is amazing, really. It's really hard to do. So that gave me a lot of confidence as well.

I'm hitting the ball really well, and I feel like if I can get those few breaks that everybody needs and hopefully get on the right side of the draw as well, then maybe special things will happen this week too.

Q. Brooke, we talked earlier this year about the anticipation for this event. Now that it's here, have your thoughts on it changed a bit about what you thought it was going to be and what it actually is?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yesterday I was in a Pro-Am, Brooke & Friends Pro Am raising money which was absolutely amazing. But the thing I was most surprised about was I was out with my group and we were having fun, and all of a sudden there were hundreds of people watching, and it was a Monday Pro-Am, you know. Still like four days away from competition, and they were out there cheering me on.

It was kind of relaxing. It kind of got my mindset on I can handle this. This is really exciting. I made an eagle on number 9 naturally, and that's when the biggest crowd was there. I was like, wow, if I can do this today, I think good things might happen on the weekend when I can kind of channel their energy and support for me and kind of use it in my own game and use it to make eagles, to make birdies or to make that clutch par save on the weekend when I really need it.

So I think, if anything, I thought I'd be a little bit more nervous this week. But right now I'm just enjoying everything and trying to embrace it the best that I can.

Q. Brooke, can I take you back to when you were a tiny little might, Junior Championship Renfrew Golf Club, and I had you fill in a questionnaire and your goal was to make it to the LPGA. How do you feel and what's your new goals?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, you know, growing up I dreamed of playing on the LPGA Tour. Now I'm fortunate enough to do that every single week and play against the best players. To now have them here, basically, in my backyard and to compete against them is pretty cool.

I've made so many friendships and relationships with them out here, and I'm hopeful the next few years I can continue to do that as well. Winning my first major last year was huge for me. That was a huge goal as well. I'm top 10 in the world right now which I'm really excited about, and that's also a huge goal.

But moving forward, I'd love to see that go down a little bit more, get closer to that No. 1 spot. Just I've won four times, but if I could win a few more times this summer and continue that trend over the next few years, I would love to retire kind of early and know that I had a successful career is really important to me.

Q. With the Solheim Cup last week there's been a couple weeks off from at least you participating on LPGA events. So how excited are you to get back to competition this week? What have you been working on the last couple weeks?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, it's extremely strange for me to have two weeks off in the middle of summer, but I also think it was good. I got to rest and go up to my cottage and kind of just relax and regroup and get ready for the rest of the season. This week is definitely going to be very busy, a lot of demands on my time. But with that being said, I want to give some extra time to media and to fans that have been supporting me my entire career. To give that extra second with them, that extra autograph or photo, I think is really important. I know I'm not going to get to everybody. That's impossible. But I'll try to do the best that I can.

Those two weeks off have kind of helped me mentally get ready as well as physically. I've practiced pretty diligently, and I feel like my game's in a great spot.

Q. (Inaudible)?
BROOKE HENDERSON: I tried to come out here as much as I could. I was also practicing at Rio Lakes near my cottage and of course in Smiths Falls as well.

Q. How tough has it been for you not just this week but through your career to say no to certain things to certain people? How difficult is that?
BROOKE HENDERSON: It's really hard. I think my first priority is to definitely get the younger children to try to help inspire them. To see their little smiles and little faces, it's really hard to say no to them, and I don't want to. I want to make sure that I give them the appropriate time. It is very difficult to say no to anybody. But at the end of the day I need to play well too, and I need to understand that I need rest and I need practice and kind of hone into how my body is feeling.

At the end of the day, if I play really well, everybody's happy. So hopefully I can do that this week. But also, you know, give the proper attention to the fans and the people that have always supported me.

Q. Just as a follow-up, how long did it take you to learn that lesson, and when do you think you sort of felt comfortable with it?
BROOKE HENDERSON: I think it's a work in progress. You know what? Since I turned pro at 17 I've learned so much. Every year has kind of been a learning experience for me. But, you know, even now I'm still trying to learn, still trying to get better at it. So, yeah, a work in progress.

Q. Brooke, the World Junior Girls Championship is coming back to Ottawa this year. What would you say to the girls competing in that event?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I played that, I guess, the first year that it was here. It was in Angus Glen, I believe, then. But it's a great tournament, great championship. To be able to compete against the best in the world and to represent Canada is really a dream come true. I've been able to do that since I started my career.

I think the best thing is just to have fun, to enjoy it, to embrace everything and try to use it as a learning experience for maybe when they go on to university in the States or when they turn pro eventually. But just try to embrace everything and take it as a learning curve.

Q. I've got to say it's a little weird to hear someone who is not yet 20 talk about retiring early. What I'm going to ask, do you have a career plan in mind? Do you have goals or objectives or targets? How do you see this playing out as your golf career?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, bottom line, I just want a successful career. For me, I would love to see my World Ranking go down and to win a few more times. Every time they announce me on the first tee and to hear the accomplishments that I've made so far, it's really a huge confidence booster and momentum for me to even start out that round. So I'd love to build that up.

But like I said earlier, playing on the LPGA Tour against the best in the world is really a dream come true for me. I'm trying to push forward and continue to get better as a person and as a golfer. Maybe in the future I can continue to grow my foundation and I can help support all the local communities and local kids and try to grow that way as well. Golf gives you so many different avenues, and I'd like to use my career the best that I can so that I can help people of all ages and all around the world as well.

Q. From a golf course perspective, you're an honorary member here. How would you describe this golf course? Is it a place you need to place yourself well off the tee? Is it a second-shot golf course? Is it around the greens? What is the key for you from that perspective?
BROOKE HENDERSON: It's a very traditional golf course, long grass and tall trees. You definitely want to hit the fairways. But once you hit the fairways, it's around the greens that you're going to score or not score. They're tricky to read, subtle breaks at times and you've got to make sure you hit it in the right spot. Since becoming a member here I've tried to play it a few times and get a feel for the golf course, and I feel like I've done that pretty well.

So hopefully my strategy and my plan works well over the next four days, and I can compete and hopefully contend on Sunday.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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