BLACK DESERT CHAMPIONSHIP

May 1, 2025

Esther Henseleit

Black Desert Resort

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Esther after her first round at the Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion. Bogey-free round for you today. What was working so well?

ESTHER HENSELEIT: Yeah, just really solid. Didn't really get into trouble off the tee and hit a lot of greens. Yeah, managed to hole some putts as well, so overall really solid day.

Q. What was the approach to this week coming into a brand new course in a new environment, all that kind of stuff?

ESTHER HENSELEIT: Yeah, it's an amazing place. I've really enjoyed my past few days here. It's beautiful. It was kind of just the focus on refreshing and recharging after the major last week.

Yeah, played a practice round and you really have to pick your spots off the tee. But I feel like this morning we didn't really have much wind. The greens were still pretty soft so you could definitely be aggressive. There was a lot of birdies out there.

Q. Obviously playing in one of, if not the, highest elevations we will play in on Tour. How much is that helping you or how much do you have to dial back some of your longer irons?

ESTHER HENSELEIT: It's so fun. You feel so strong so it's great. I mean, with mid to long irons it's pretty much a club compared to last week, so sometimes you really have to be like, okay, do the maths.

My caddie is great. He's got so much experience, so I don't really worry about that too much.

Q. Just looking at your strokes gained numbers, that is really with your day lies. What have you been working on with your approaches this season that's been working so well?

ESTHER HENSELEIT: It's always been my strength the last few years as well. I've been hitting it pretty good, especially the last three weeks. Yeah, just trying to stick to my swing thoughts. It's also been the same for a few years.

I feel like I really figured it out now and really have the feeling that also works on the course, so it's been pretty good.

Q. Just mentioned Brooker. How has that partnership been going?

ESTHER HENSELEIT: Yeah, it's great. He has so much experience. He's worked for so many No. 1s, and every tournament we go to I'm like, how many times did you win here? Oh, three, four, whatever.

Yeah, first time here so he doesn't have one here yet. Yeah, he is just a great guy.

Q. How do you build on this going forward?

ESTHER HENSELEIT: Yeah, just keep doing my thing. It's probably going to get a bit more windy than it was this morning. Probably only going to get harder from here. I enjoy playing in the wind and I'm really looking forward to the challenge.