Brooke Henderson heads into Canadian championship with life’s pieces falling into place

Last month Brooke Henderson took a week off from the Ladies Professional Golf Association and went to Florida, where she maintains a home.

Her boyfriend, Ricky Castro, a minor league baseball pitcher in the Minnesota Twins organization, flew down to spend a few days with her.

They met by chance on a golf course in March of 2025 and began to date.

Both are religious and enjoy reading scripture together. After they read to one another beside a lake on July 14, he proposed.

“He did everything right,” Henderson said shortly after their engagement was announced. “He did it extremely well. I wasn’t expecting it. We talked for a minute after we read together and then I saw a guy with a camera not too far away and I thought, ‘Oh, that’s weird.’

“Then Ricky got down on one knee and asked me. It was easy to say yes.”

Canadian golf star Brooke Henderson discusses recent engagement

Henderson is 28 and the most successful golfer in Canadian history, man or woman. She has won 14 tournaments on the LPGA tour since she turned professional at age 17. As she heads into the Aug. 19-23 CPKC Women’s Open at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton, her career earnings amount to nearly US$17-million.

She has played in 14 events this year, has three top-10 finishes, all in majors, is ninth in the LPGA’s Player of The Year rankings and has only missed the cut twice.

In July she finished second at the Amundi Evian Championship in Evian-les-Bains, France. She was seven strokes back entering the final round and made an eagle on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Haeran Ryu.

As Henderson made the charge she had three eagles, including a hole-in-one and had a half-dozen eagles over the four rounds.

“It was a really fun week for me,” she said. “It was crazy. I was seven shots back and playing in the final group and I just tried to go out and see if I could make something happen. I got myself into a playoff so it was a dream day.

“It was not the dream to lose in the playoff but otherwise it was great to be in the chase and be in contention.”

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This has been a year of transition. Her older sister Brittany was her caddie for 11 years but went on maternity leave in January. Henderson eventually turned to her cousin, Ryan, to carry her bag and offer advice on the tour.

“It was a huge adjustment,” Henderson concurred. “My sister is my best friend and being able to travel around the world together was a dream come true. Then all of a sudden she was expecting her first child. I was so excited and so happy for her but it was such a big change for me on the golf course.

“But it has all worked out really well. She has a beautiful daughter and I am so excited to be an aunt. It did take a little bit of time to find a new caddie. So it has been a transition year but also has led to very exciting and great things.”

Henderson is a star on the tour and will draw a huge gallery in Edmonton. She is from Smiths Falls, Ont., and is always popular in Canada. She is followed around courses by a group of fans that call themselves the Brooke Brigade.

She last played at the AIG Women’s Open in Lancashire, England on July 30 through Aug. 2, where she finished tied for 29th. She is the defending champion at the CPKC Women’s Open and will lead a field of 156 players that includes world No. 1 Nelly Korda and three-time CKPC Women’s Open champion and Olympic gold medalist, Lydia Ko, of New Zealand.

Henderson played hockey in her youth and is very athletic and packs a lot of punch in her 5-foot-4 frame. She averages 268 yards off the tee and is remarkably consistent. She has played 261 LPGA tournaments and has missed the cut only 30 times.

“I feel like my game has been really close the last couple of years but it hasn’t been all there, not as much as I would have liked it to have been,” she said. “As everyone knows golf is extremely challenging. You don’t know what is going to happen day to day. You have to stay positive and learn as much as you can.

“I feel like I’m trending in the right direction. It has been a work in progress, and finally patience is paying off. Things are really starting to come together, which is a great feeling.”

For now, life is good.

She’s an aunt to her sister’s baby girl, named Sahalee, after the golf course where Brooke won her first major championship in 2016. She is engaged.

“When you are happy off the course and everything is good, then you tend to be happier on the course and I feel like that has been the case for me especially the last month or two,” Henderson said. “I was very happy with my niece and my boyfriend and my family is all healthy that relieves a lot of stress.”

She still keeps in touch with Brittany.

“I have missed her a lot these last few months but we still talk all of the time,” Henderson said. “She was in labour and I sent her putting videos and she helped me. She is always there for me.”