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CANADIAN PACIFIC WOMEN'S OPEN

August 24, 2019

Brooke Henderson

Regina Saskatchewan, Canada

Q. Brooke, you got off to a bit of a slow start. What happened on the 8th that lit your fire?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, you know, it was a little bit of a struggle there. I felt like I was playing decent golf. Just wasn't really going my way. Then on the 7th green a little boy gave me a high five and then he continued that the rest of the round.

I think starting at the time he kind of cheered me up a little bit. I think I tried to get back to even on the front nine. Going to 8 tee I was trying to just make two birdies, get it back to even, and then see if I could go really low on the back, which I did.

Q. This little boy?
BROOKE HENDERSON: No, not Kyle.

Q. Did the hole look like a bucket today?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, that was fun. It was nice to have my putter on my side. To be honest, my putter has been bailing me out a lot this week. Today I made a lot of putts. I felt really confident with it. Felt like my speed was good. As long as I was seeing the line they seemed to be falling.

It was just a lot of fun out there.

Q. Can you recall ever going on a bigger tear than that?
BROOKE HENDERSON: I think that was probably one of the best ones. I can't really remember the last time I was in the 20s through nine holes, so that's always a lot of fun.

I think just taking into tomorrow, if I can kind of try to keep this momentum and energy that I had on the last few holes, hopefully maybe hit it a little bit better off the tee, hit it a little closer, and hopefully my putter can bail me out.

Q. Were you looking at the leaderboard any time the front nine?
BROOKE HENDERSON: I saw glimpses of it and was disappointed on how far back I really was. I think that kind of gave me some motivation to try to make some more birdies and climb up as fast as I could.

I'm still behind, but hopefully I can get off to a faster start tomorrow and just see what happens.

Q. 12, was it the do or die?
BROOKE HENDERSON: 12? Oh, yeah. That was really awesome. I was 1-under on the day at that point and I was feeling a lot better about myself than 2-over. So I think like anything after that was really bonus.

Once I made that eagle it just gave me a lot of energy and birdied the next two holes, and then just kind of periodically coming in.

Q. What were you struggling with before you got the high five?
BROOKE HENDERSON: You know, I felt like I was hitting it well. I just was slightly missing it and not catching the breaks. I felt like the wind was really swirling, and for some reason Brit and I just couldn't figure it out for the first few holes.

Then we got a better grasp on it I guess the last 12 holes or so.

Q. You looked visibly relieved after the first birdie on 8. On the tee on 9 there was a long wait. Seemed like you and Brit were just having more fun. Did you have that sense of lightness?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah. I think it got my day started in the right direction. I was just kind of grinding out there before that and nothing really seemed to be going perfectly, so I think that birdie was really huge.

The proximity to hole on 8, 9, and 10 was really helpful. Just got the mojo going the right way.

Q. Seemed like you picked up your pace of play after that birdie on 8. You were moving faster when you were going from shot to shot. Does that help you focus when you pick up the pace?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Well, with twosomes you always feel like you're running because you always seem to be behind. I feel like maybe it was a little bit faster pace generally whole day today just because of that.

I feel like when things are going well it's a nice pace, nice rhythm to be in, but I think the first few holes I was also feeling maybe a little bit more tense because I felt like the group in front of us was getting away from us even? I though didn't feel like we were playing too slow.

Q. You've defended titles before. How much will that experience help you tomorrow?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I've been really fortunate to defend two titles, Hawaii and Portland. That's pretty special. Unlike those two events, this is a different golf course, so I can't rely on some great memories from the year previous when I stepped on the tee.

But I think just knowing how I handled it last year and just if I could shoot another 65 like I did the last Sunday of the CP Women's Open that would be pretty special. I feel like I would have a good shot at it.

Q. In addition to the little boy giving you the high five, can you talk about what Brittany did during that stretch to really give you the confidence to have a great rest of your round?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I think she was just trying to keep me calm. She realized that we were playing decent. Just wasn't going our way. She was just trying to keep me relaxed and motivated to keep trying to make birdies and hopefully the switch will come on, and it did.

Q. One of the players you're going to have to chance tomorrow is the No. 1 player the world. Does that make your job a little tougher?
BROOKE HENDERSON: I love Jin Young. She's a great person and player. It's fun. She's No. 1 in the world and she's had an incredible year. I think it will be a fun challenge for me tomorrow. I think if I play like I did on the back nine today, then I have a real shot at it.

Q. Do you have a preference for being the chaser or the chasee?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Most of my wins I have from being out front going into the final round, so maybe a little bit different. I think maybe it takes a little bit of the pressure off because I really have nothing to lose. I can go out there and maybe be a little bit more aggressive.

Just kind of depends on the conditions and the winds.

Q. Did you execute on your game plan today, or after the two early bogeys was the game plan thrown out the window and you were just trying to make as many birdies as possible?
BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, you know, I was trying to stick to it a lot early, and I think -- we thought the wind was going to be coming from a different direction. Kind of threw us off a little bit. I think we still stuck to our strategy that we had all week going into every hole with and what we talked about last night. I think we were maybe a little bit wiser with where the wind was coming from.

The greens seemed to be a little bit more receptive today as well.

Q. Brooke, have you allowed yourself to really take in what it would mean it repeat tomorrow?
BROOKE HENDERSON: I mean, I'm really far from that. It's going to a long 18 holes. I'm not even in the lead, so it doesn't really look likely. At the same time, I feel like if I can make a lot birdies and kind of get the momentum my way, you never know what can happen.

Just like any tournament, it's won on the back nine on Sunday really. Hopefully I can just kind of repeat what I did today. It would be really special. To do it once is incredible. To do it twice would be really awesome.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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