Player's Own Voice podcast: Brooke Henderson's family business
Golfer discusses life at the top with CBC Sports
Brooke Henderson is the most successful golfer in Canadian history.
She's just 21 years old, but she has already won more tournaments than any other Canadian — an incredible nine tour victories to her credit since 2016.
And despite the overwhelming attention that is always showered on star athletes, she is a remarkably poised and level-headed young woman.
Anastasia Bucsis' guest on the Player's Own Voice podcast this week attributes her composure to being surrounded by family to an unusual degree. Her dad is her coach, and her sister Brittany (a pro golfer in her own right) has been alongside her as caddy for all her biggest wins.
As any regular golfer can attest, it is incredibly difficult to stay focused for 18 holes, let alone a tournament's 72.
Brooke talks about the challenge of next level keeping it together and staying sharp through the nearly relentless pro golf season. No time to brood over setbacks, nor savour triumphs when only a couple of days separate one high-profile tournament from the next.
Brooke Henderson is no seeker of the spotlight, but her fame now extends well beyond Canada. Henderson figures prominently in LPGA marketing and branding this year. That's a savvy bet on the Tour's part: looking at Henderson's results in recent months, it is dizzying to imagine where she might be after a few more seasons in the game.
A statistical dive into her performances only suggests greater things to come — she has more rounds in the 60s, more birdies, and more eagles than almost any of her peers.
She is a shy young woman from a small town in Ontario, and perhaps that's part of what makes Brooke Henderson's march to the pinnacle of her sport feel so gratifying to Canadian golf fans. How refreshing to listen to someone who doesn't actually crave media attention.
Like the CBC Sports' Player's Own Voice essay series, POV podcast lets athletes speak to Canadians about issues from a personal perspective. To listen to any of this season's guests...including FIFA's Diana Matheson, Brian Burke, Tessa Virtue, Kaillie Humphries, or any of the high performance athletes from season one, subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Tune In or wherever you get your other podcasts.