MEIJER LPGA CLASSIC

June 14, 2022

Brooke Henderson

Blythefield Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Here with Brooke Henderson at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. You're most recent LPGA Tour winner. 7-under on Sunday to put yourself in a playoff with Lindsay Weaver-Wright. Made an eagle on 18 to take home your 11th title.

It's been only a couple days, but take me through Sunday. That was incredible.

BROOKE HENDERSON: Thanks. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Going into Sunday, I was just trying to go as low as I could and make as many birdies and try to climb the leaderboard.

Going to the back nine I was right near the top of the leaderboard, so it was really exciting seeing that. I was able to make two more birdies and finish at 12-under, and I was just hoping I would get it to a playoff, and to have an opportunity to go out and win it after that.

Starting the day four shots back with that many talented players ahead of me, the playoff was definitely the goal, and if I could have won it outright would've been awesome.

To go out into the playoff and then making an eagle and capturing the 11th win, it was pretty special.

Q. You're very competitive. When you got that opportunity with Lindsey, it didn't seem like you were ever going to let off the pedal. Seemed eagle was always the mindset. Walk me through that final hole.

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, the thing with playoffs is anything can really happen and you only have one opportunity, so I just tried to make solid swings and tried to attack as much as I could. To walk up to the green and see it was very close for eagle was very exciting.

Just to make at that putt and kind of finish in style, it was just awesome. To have my family there as well, mom and dad were out last week, and of course Brit on the bag, it just made it a lot of fun.

Yeah, I'm just really excited about it.

Q. Two majors under your belt. Having a win like that, I know it probably feels a little bit like a bonus because I don't know if that's what you were expecting at the end of Sunday, but does it feel like a bonus as you head into some even more tough golf?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, for sure a bonus. Just very grateful for it. Definitely gives a huge confidence boost and momentum moving into this week where I have so many great memories. And just I just love being around this course, so I'm just really excited for this week and then going into next week where I'm also a past champion.

It's a really fun stretch of golf for me right now. Hopefully I can just keep hitting the ball well and give myself a lot of birdie looks.

Q. You mentioned two-time champion here. Always seem to play well at Meijer. I was looking through the score and your name is always at the top. What is it you like so much about Blythfield?

BROOKE HENDERSON: This courses really suits my eye. It's been a lot of fun ever since I first came her in -- I guess 2016 was my first year. Just I feel like there is lots of birdie opportunities and that makes it really fun.

The scores are always very low so you have to go out and attack and make birdies. You know, hopefully just make a climb on the weekend.

Q. Are there any teeth in this golf course? To your point, scores are always really low here.

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I missed the cut here last year, so you can definitely get bit even though you're playing all right. You have to be very strategic on certain holes, but once you hit it in good places off the tee then you usually have a lot of birdie looks.

The last couple years the couple changes they made makes it definitely more challenging, some bunkers that stick out into the fairways and some of the run-offs around the greens.

So you do have to be strategic, but if you're playing well and hitting it in good spots, you do have some good opportunities.

Q. So I was at St. George's on Sunday. There was a lot going on there. Everybody was looking at their phones seeing what was going on. What kind of reaction did you get and response?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, back home in Canada, always extremely supportive. It was pretty cool timing that it was the RBC Canadian Open, because I know everybody was pretty fired up to be able to go out and watch golf again up there. It's been a long time.

They were excited about that, and then to have my win be the same weekend, I think it just makes everyone just a little bit more excited. Everyone has been texting and emailing and just reaching out, and I always really appreciate the sport back home, and honestly all around the whole world. People are very supportive, and I'm very lucky to have fans from everywhere.

Q. You were talking about the men's Open this year. What do you expect for CP?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yes, CP will be very exciting. It's about an hour away from where I grew up, and so I expect crowds will be pretty crazy like they were in 2017. That was a lot of fun for me that week.

Especially having not played CP for the last two or three years I guess, I think everyone is going to be really excited just to have the opportunity to go and watch and see the best in the world play.

Q. You were talking a little bit about the majors before: 9 of the top 10 players here this week; 18 of the top 20. It's good preparation for next week?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. This tournament, this event, always has a great field of players. It's very competitive, and especially, as you said, leading into next week it's definitely a great test of golf, because you do have to hit it in the fairways because the rough is very long.

Usually that applies to pretty much any major we play, so I think it's definitely a good lead-in to next week. It's very -- a lot of the top players are here, so makes it a lot of fun and even more challenging.

Q. Last question about next week. What are your expectations for next week and what do you remember about 2016?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, after winning my first major my life changed. Got a lot more attention and things really started going really well for me. I feel like I owe a lot to that event.

I haven't won a major since then, so hopefully that will change shortly. Just a being a major champion is what I think every golfer kind of dreams about, and look forward to the opportunity to get to do it again.

Q. The years that you won here, what part of your game is really special?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Any time you're winning you have to make a lot of putts, so hopefully the putter is working well this week. I think off the tee here, you know, hitting it in certain spots, like I kind of mentioned before, and even it applies more so now that they have the extra bunkers and how thick the rough is, especially the first couple yards off the fairway.

So I think hitting it long and straight off the tee will be a key this week, first step to get you to making some birdies.

Q. Wanted to ask you about chasing as you did on Sunday. What kind of mindset does that produce where a golfer sometimes produces some of his or her best golf?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, it is fun to be chasing sometimes, because you can just go out and attack and be a little bit more aggressive than you would be if you were up near the top.

So a little bit different mindset.

Honestly everything just went really perfectly for me on Sunday, and that doesn't always happen. But it just was like a perfect day, and I'm just very happy that it turned out the way it did, and hopefully I can just kind of take some the mindset that I was using on Sunday and bring it to this week and stay aggressive.

Q. Just a quick one. I'm at the U.S. Open and I talked to Corey Conners a little bit about your win. I just was wondering if you could confirm if you played on Team Canada together at the same time and if you saw what Corey said about your win on Sunday?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I did see what he said about me. That was very nice of him.

And we did play together on the National Team couple years. Yeah, fantastic player and great guy. And I think last year, too which was pretty cool.

(Indiscernible).

So, yeah, just a great guy and I'll be cheering for him this week.

Q. When you were here last year we talked about kind of being in Michigan and feeling kind of like home. With the way that you've played here, the only two-time winner of this event and the way you played up in Midland at the Dow, just kind of how special is it to be in the state of Michigan and excited to be back here?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yes, I definitely love coming back here. My brother-in-law is from here, so it's really awesome to have lots of family and friends that come out to watch.

It's just really nice to see them again. I feel like being this close to Canada a lot of fans come across the border and come and watch too, which is cool to get that support.

It reminds me a lot of growing up back home. The grasses are similar, and of course it reminds me of quite a few holes that I used to play growing up.

So lots of great memories here, and being a two-time champion, it's exciting to kind of think, oh, yeah, I was here right in this spot and I putted to that hole and I made it. This is what happened after that.

So it's nice reflect on those memories and think about them. Hopefully add to the strategy this week.

Q. Just two I guess really side questions. One, where is your brother-in-law from? Two, like you said, nice to have the fans come back out after last year kind of they weren't able to. Just it's nice to have people here in your corner, again, right?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. He's from here, so right here in Grand Rapids, so the family aspect is really cool.

Just to have the fans back, yeah, after what feels like a long time, it's been really nice after the past year or so to have fans start to come back out and feel that adrenaline rush and energy that they bring, because it's so important and it makes what we do even more exciting, and you're always trying to push to make more birdies so you can hear more applause and give them a good time.

I'm excited to be back, and especially with the Simply Give and having the opportunity to give back to the community is really cool for all of us. We really appreciate when tournaments and events take on issues like this and it really makes a difference.

Q. Two questions: First off. The Simply Give, obviously what you guys have done over the years has been incredible. It's probably more important now than ever with the price of everything. Is that something that you guys realize and is a factor this week out here trying to raise money for the hungry?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, it's so important. I think when we're given a platform like this, all players, we're always trying to do our best to give back to the communities we play in, grow up in. Just trying to make a small difference and it makes a big difference for them.

I think it's really cool to see an event like this be so involved. Like over $1 million. That's crazy that we raised that amount of money this year.

Q. What goes into playing the week after a win and how is it different?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I am usually very tired after a win, first couple days, so I think it's just really important to make sure that I do get the proper amount rest, especially the first few days afterwards, just so that I can be in a great mindset going into the first round.

So lots of rest and just trying to of course keep up with the preparation and make sure ball-striking and putting is in a good spot.

Rest has definitely been a key for me.

Q. Speaking of putting, recently went left-hand low. Just a couple weeks ago. It's obviously paid off. What was the motivation behind that change? Obviously the win, but how well that is been working for you?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yes, it was a change that I did with my sister, Brit, my caddie, and my dad, who is also my coach. We just felt like it would be a good idea to help solve some of the putting issues that I was having.

I started off the year really hot and I had a lot of great finishes, and kind of cooled off and I wasn't feeling so well and things kind of went a little bit cold there for a little while.

Definitely having the putting back in my corner and feeling a little bit more comfortable all the time is really key. I feel like left-hand low has made a big difference and so I'm excited moving forward.

Q. Final question. Win last week, the Meijer LPGA this week, always play really well this week, and KPMG next week. What's the mindset with so much here?

BROOKE HENDERSON: I think it's just going to be a really fun stretch of golf, and so I'm just really grateful for the opportunity to be back out playing on the tour. To have won last week, things are all just really good right now, so hopefully I can keep that momentum going and can keep the energy high.

With all the majors left this year and coming back here where I am past champion, be amazing to get another win.

Q. From a golf standpoint, what do you feel left-hand low technically does for you?

BROOKE HENDERSON: I'm very much a feel player, so Brit and dad worked more on the technical things. They thought it would be a good idea, and when I did it I felt a lot more comfortable and just felt like I could make putts that way, so that's always a good feeling.

It did take me a while to get used to it because I've never really done it too much in the past, but now sometimes I'll be just standing in the fairway and grip my club there. I'm like, oooh, that's not good. But obviously I'm very comfortable with it now and I feel like it was a big key for last week.

Q. Is there a certain range of putts where you feel it particularly helps?

BROOKE HENDERSON: I think the shorter putts for sure. I know some players that just do the short putts left-hand low and go back to the regular grip for the long ones. Currently I've just been going -- even on the super long 20-yard putts still been left-hand low.

I feel like it's personal presence, but right now feels good and I'm excited.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Brooke, and good luck this week.