CPKC WOMEN'S OPEN

August 22, 2025

Brooke Henderson

Mississaugua Golf & Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Talk about the round overall.

BROOKE HENDERSON: Well, first, I was wondering where Bobbi is at. I miss him. But it's great to talk to you.

It was a great day out there. I feel like I really finished strong, four birdies on my last like seven or eight holes, so really strong finish and really fun to have the crowd behind me a little bit, and just felt so much support.

Q. You got off to a bit of a better start today as opposed to yesterday. How much of that was a focus heading into today?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I definitely wanted to get off to a hot start, get away from the cut line as fast as I could. 2-under through nine holes I was really happy with. To finish the day 5-under, it was a really good day and I'm just really excited to be teeing it up the next two days and look forward to the amazing crowds out here.

Q. Spoke earlier in the week about wanting to focus on the between-the-ears game. Where do you feel your mental game is at right now?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Today it was pretty good. There is definitely room for improvement, but I definitely feel like I am trending in the right direction and that's very exciting. Lots of positives to take away from the week so far.

Yeah, feel like I grinded it out when I needed to, got up and down a few times today that were really clutch, and able to roll in some nice birdies, too.

Q. I don't know how much you've been able to track Aphrodite Deng, the 15 year old; had a great day yesterday. Someone had a lot of success at a young age as well, do you have any advice you would give her?

BROOKE HENDERSON: She's been playing amazing. I don't know if she needs any advice from me. It's cool she's playing so well. And just to see her name up there yesterday it was like, oh, I need to get playing better here. So it was pretty fun, and I am looking forward to seeing what she does the next couple days.

Q. All right, here with Brooke Henderson. Let's start at the finish. Two birdies to close. Talk about that closing stretch and how much momentum you have heading into Saturday.

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I'm really happy with how that went, especially closing with four birdies in my last nine holes. Really exciting to finish off 17 and 18 and give the crowd something to cheer about was really fun with two birdies there.

Feel like a lot of good momentum, a lot of confidence after today's round. Hopefully just go out strong tomorrow and put up a good number.

Q. You talked at length this season about being close. Looked like a lot of things were working for you out there today. How close is close now?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, I mean, after shooting 5-under you feel like, oh, yeah, close is here. But I'm right there. Just got to keep going, put two more solid rounds in the together.

This week it's been nice because when things haven't worked out well I've been able to be gritty and get up and down, and I'm really proud of that. When I was hitting it in good spots and giving myself birdie looks I was rubbing the edge or making them.

A lot of things have gone correctly the last couple days.

Q. Switched the putter early in the week. Been a nice switch so far?

BROOKE HENDERSON: It's been a lovely switch. Yeah, super happy about it. Feels great right now. Yeah, just to finish off 17 and 18 rolling from some nice long ones gives me a lot of confidence.

Q. Another solid round for you. How does it feel to be in the top 10?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, that feels good. Any time you can see your name near the top of the leaderboard it's always a great feeling. I know there will be a lot of movement this afternoon once the rest of the crowd goes out, but definitely solid way to start the morning.

Feel like I'm so excited to be playing the weekend in front of these amazing fans, and just hopefully I can give them some more to cheer about tomorrow.

Q. When we spoke yesterday you were speaking about how you were hoping to improve your ball striking today. Seems like did you that. Hit 12 of 14 fairways. What changes or adjustments did you make between yesterday's round and today? Was it just a matter of maybe clearing your mind?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, definitely clearing the mind is always a huge one for me, especially lately. And also I started to gain some momentum the last three or four holes yesterday. Started to hit more greens and some better birdie opportunities, so I feel like that gave me a little bit of confidence going into today.

Yeah, just tried to have a better mindset and be a little bit more determined and it's worked out.

Q. Could be wrong, but it feels like this is a pattern for you, where in the second round of the CPKC Women's Open you always find your sea legs and go low. Any theories as to why that is? Is it just learning the golf course more?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Maybe a mixture of that and getting used to the crowd and the fans and the energy and learning the golf course a little bit more. Just getting a little bit more comfortable with myself.

I also think like I kind of had to go low today to get away from the cut line, so that was a big goal of mine was to shoot minus-5 and I was able to do that which is cool.

Yeah, just wanted to get away from the cut line as fast as I could and I'm in a good spot.

Q. In general what's the difference between teeing off at 7:30 like you did today or 1:00 like yesterday?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Honestly I prefer to play in the morning, except for on Sunday or maybe Saturday. Otherwise I enjoy playing in the morning. It's usually a little bit more scorable. I always feel a little bit better, too. But I like seeing my name near the top of the leaderboard so hopefully it's a late tee times tomorrow.

Q. What impact, if anything, had of seeing Aphrodite yesterday and what impact that might've had on you?

BROOKE HENDERSON: Yeah, for sure. It was very inspiring to see her up there and playing so well. I know she's played amazing this summer. To see her name up there, I was like, okay, let's go. I got to keep up here.

So, yeah, no, it was really nice. I think maybe currently we're tied but she still has an afternoon round to go. It's cool to see how well she's playing and definitely motivating me to try to step it up.