CPKC WOMEN'S OPEN

August 19, 2025

Brooke Henderson

Mississaugua Golf & Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome everyone to the media center at the 2025 CPKC Women's Open. I'm joined by Canadian Brooke Henderson. I'll ask you one question and open it up to the several media members that have questions for you I'm sure.

Can you describe being back here in Canada? Talked about it last year being your favorite event. Speak to another year being here.

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. It's such an amazing opportunity to be able to play at home in front of the hometown crowds and just have the Brooke Brigade out watching and just the support and love of the whole country mind me this week. It's just really exciting and I'm looking forward to the opportunity.

Even just flying into Toronto the other day I was like, I'm so happy to be back in Canada. Looking forward to a good week.

Q. You started so incredibly last week in Portland. Just looked like everything was going well for you. You've long talked about this season being a little bit weird for you. To see things click, how did that make you feel last week?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, for sure to start out minus-7 the first round, no bogeys on the card, bunch of birdies, which was really fun. Yeah, was hitting the ball really well. Got up and down when I needed to and saw some putts roll in, too, so definitely a great way to start.

Had another good round on Saturday and got off to a really hot start on Sunday, too, so I thought things were going to be really good. Unfortunately dropped a you few shots on the back nine and near the end of the front nine.

So definitely things are coming and it's really positive to see two really solid rounds, and even throughout the other rounds to see a lot of good things happening. Just have to clean up the mental, mindset a little bit. I feel like we been putting in a lot of good work and I just have to -- hopefully things will all click this week.

Q. I was going to say, knowing that's bubbling under the surface and you've come this week to Canada where everyone will be so excited to see you play well again, will that help with the mental side of things, the support you're going to have?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, so much support. It's honestly so incredible. I feel like over the last -- well, I was actually watching clips when I was 14 playing in my first Canadian Open event just to see the progression, and to look back on that was super fun.

I just learned so much since that event, especially playing here at home and how to handle things a little bit better and how to use the energy of the crowd to my advantage.

So I'm just trying to kind of lean into some of those things that I learned and try to do that the best I can, and hopefully -- it's pretty easy like once you start to make a bunch of birdies to kind of ride the momentum, so I am hoping to get off to a fast start on Thursday and ride the momentum the rest of the week.

Q. Wonder, this summer had a great level of success for Canadian women golfers, especially in the amateur ranks with Aphrodite Deng and Vanessa Borovilos and all that. Does it make you feel good that you have been an inspiration to them in their work?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Well, I hope I have been a bit. They have been playing amazing and I think the next few years out on Tour there will be a lot of us, which is pretty cool.

And, yeah, I feel like any time that I can try to be an inspiration to the younger generation, the kids that come out to watch this week, that means a lot to me. It's cool to see all they've been doing. I'm not sure how much credit I can take for that because they're just playing amazing.

To think that I maybe inspired them somehow along the way is pretty cool.

Q. Just when you said you were watching clips of yourself when you were 14, just come across those? Seek them out? Somebody give them to you?

BROOKE HENDERSON: No, you sought them out. I was watching a bunch of clips of this event, CPKC Women's Open, over the years just trying to get some motivation and try to lean back on some things that I've learned over the years just to see the progress that I've made, and it's pretty cool. I played in this event a lot and I've had a lot of success, winning in 2018 and multiple Top 10s. Even when I was young to make the cut was super cool.

Yeah, just trying to like think back like what was going through my mind when I was answering those questions back then or out there playing. It's been cool. I just did that yesterday afternoon. Maybe it was the red eye or the jet lag talking, but I really enjoyed it.

I think there is just so much -- there are so many cool things that have happened at this event so just trying to take positive energy from that and use it this week.

Q. Did you watch some clips of 2018, too?

BROOKE HENDERSON: I didn't yesterday, actually, but a lot of other years, yeah.

Q. And sorry for three straight questions. Adam referenced how you described your season as weird. What has made it weird?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Just hasn't been up to my standards I guess, not really what I'm used to. But I feel like I've been saying it for a really long time. You're probably getting annoyed with it a little bit, but I am definitely trending in the right direction and it is super close to being really good again, which is really exciting.

I think just getting four solid rounds of golf together in a row is really key. Just being a little bit more consistent. For a while the ball striking was a bit of an issue. I feel like we worked diligently on that and it's back to a better spot.

So just piecing everything together. Golf is hard and I found that out more recently than I ever have. Just trying to take it day by day figuring it out. I think mentality for me is the number one thing, trying to get back to the mental strength I had previous years.

Q. Do you have any theories about what was going wrong or simply golf is just being golf right now?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, just maybe caught up to me a little bit, everything just over the years. But I mean, yeah, golf is just really hard. It can be hard on you between the ears especially.

But I feel like I'm in a really good spot and I'm excited for this week and excited for the rest of the season hopefully to finish off really strong.

Really excited to be playing International Crown this year, too, World Team. So lots of really positive things to finish out the year. I feel like it's going to be a good finish.

Q. When you talk about the need to clean up the mindset or mental side of your game, how do you generally approach that?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I mean, I think it's -- I work with my team and it's just me trying to be a little bit more clear, just focus on what I need to and not let outside factors really distract me too much.

It's just -- I mean, I don't know the perfect answer. I feel like everybody out here is probably working on it too. I think just like being surrounded by my great family who really helps me out all the time and making sure I'm just staying focused on what I need to and not too much on outside things.

Q. A lot is made of the grind of this Tour, the geographical grind. How much does that go hand in hand with the mental strain you might feel?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, for sure. It can be tiring. We travel a lot. I like to play quite a few events. Haven't played as many the last five, six years. I think I'm maybe lined up to play 25 this year, which is definitely a cutback from when I first started.

It's definitely very tiring, but what an incredible job. I love going to different places and experiencing it and I love coming back home to Canada.

It's a really exciting week for me here and I love being surrounded by Canadians and their love and support; just being close to things that I'm used to. I went to Timmy's yesterday, which was really fun. Anywhere where we go in the world I feel like you get some positive energy and adrenaline rush. That can add up and be tiring at the end of the day but you can get short bursts of energy.

As long as you're time managing and being aware how your body and mind and soul are feeling, you can take the appropriate time to rest and practice. That's another thing I learned, especially at this event over the years, just making sure I have the right amount of time in the right areas to make sure I can perform on the weekend.

Q. Just kind of along the same lines, if you were to go back in time and talk to that 14 year old you were watching yesterday, and there are so many young gals watching you now, what would you say to that 14 year old to kind of -- if you were able to go back in time is say, okay, here the Top 3 things?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Honestly the first thing that came to mind was just keep going. I was watching that yesterday and I just said, well, maybe I can make this a career if I just continue to work hard and get some good breaks. It's like, yeah, I was able to turn pro three years after that.

So it's really exciting. I mean, I feel like I could also learn a lot from that girl back then, too. I played pretty free and I was enjoying every opportunity and trying to embrace things as much as I could and learn from every situation.

I think I want to do that right now. I want to learn every day so that I can be better tomorrow. I feel like I did that really well when I was younger and in my teens.

Yeah, just want to continue to do that.

Q. I'm just curious, as you're being patient for everything to come together, is there anything off the golf course, new hobbies or passions, that's helped you take your mind off some inside the ropes frustrations?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I mean, I always have a very loving family who are always with me, most of the time are around me. And even when they're not out traveling at tournaments, I talk to them every day through text or FaceTime or something.

So that's really meaningful and that definitely helps. Close friends. It's just really nice to have a great group of people that are surrounding you and can make you feel loved and make you feel like golf is obviously very important and they all want me to succeed but it's also not like your identity. I think that's really important to remember especially when you're out here for so long.

At the end of the day everybody is just trying to support me and help me chase after my dreams and goals. I think I that's really awesome.

I haven't really taken up any other hobbies. Just kind of same old that way. Yeah, just trying to get back and be patient.

Q. I know last year you made some changes to equipment throughout the year. Have you done much tinkering with that this year?

BROOKE HENDERSON: A little bit. Not -- I haven't made quite as many putter changes this year as I did last year which was quite a few. It's really good. Like this morning TaylorMade on the range gave me a brand new wedge that just came out a couple weeks ago, so really excited to test those out just hitting some shots out of the rough, especially in the wet conditions because they're supposed to perform really well when they're a little bit wet, much better than the old wedges.

So I made that changeover, which is awesome. Yeah, just trying to find anything that kind of sparks better energy and can help me perform a little bit better.

Q. How long have you had the putter that you have in your bag now?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Well, actually this one is pretty new. It was like from two weeks ago. But before that, I had the other one for pretty long.

Q. What do you have now?

BROOKE HENDERSON: I'm actually changing this afternoon, so you're catching me off. But generally it's been pretty consistent. This is the same it's just the weight is a slightly ditch. But TaylorMade SpiderX. I'm excited about it. The grip a little different and the weight but generally the same.