Brooke Henderson engaged, says life off the golf course fuelled recent success on it

EDMONTON — Brooke Henderson draws a direct line between her recent success on the golf course to her happiness off of it.

Top-three finishes in her last two majors — including a monster final round at the Evian Championship put her in a playoff — has coincided with becoming an aunt and an escalation in her love life.

Minnesota Twins prospect Ricky Castro got down on one knee on a beach in Florida and proposed to Henderson two days after she posted three eagles, including a hole in one, in her final-round 64 in France.

The winningest golfer in Canadian history said yes. The couple made their engagement public in a social media post Sunday.

“It’s been an amazing month. I’m really grateful for how great things have been off the course for me recently,” Henderson said Monday in Edmonton.

“When you have that positive energy and you have kind of that happiness other than from golf, I think it’s really key and then it definitely translates over into the game of golf.”

Henderson stopped in at the Royal Mayfair Club where she will attempt to defend her CPKC Women’s Open, which is the Canadian Open, in August.

The 28-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., owns a career 14 LPGA Tour wins, including two majors.

Henderson tied for third in the Women’s PGA Championship on June 28 before her final-weekend surge in the Evian, where she recorded six eagles over her final two rounds.

Seven strokes off the lead heading into the final day, Henderson laid down her best round this season to flirt with a third major, and a second Evian title after claiming it in 2022.

Henderson lost to South Korea’s Haeran Ryu in a playoff, but she feels good about her game heading into her next major, which is next week’s AIG Women’s Open in Lancashire, England.

Henderson’s impending nuptials competed with her golf game as question topics at Monday’s news conference to promote the Canadian tournament Aug. 19-23.

Henderson won it last year at Mississaugua Golf and Country Club and in 2018 at Regina’s Wascana Country Club.

No wedding date yet, Henderson said.

“We’re just kind of enjoying this phase right now,” she said. “Probably not for like a while, at least a year, maybe a year and a half.”

Castro, 26, signed with the Twins in 2024 and is currently pitching for the Triple-A St. Paul Saints.

“He’s an incredible athlete, he’s a pitcher and I feel like there’s a lot of correlations between pitcher and golfer,” Henderson said.

“Just being able to talk to him about a lot of certain things and things that are going well for him or not so well for him, and me being able share those same experiences and kind of learn from each other has been really helpful over the course that we’ve known each other.”

Henderson gained a niece in June, but lost her longtime caddie in January when sister Brittany went on maternity leave.

Sahalee, born June 25, is named for Washington’s Sahalee Country Club where Brooke captured her first major in 2016 with Brittany on her bag.

Life on and off the course was hard for Henderson without her sister. Henderson placed third in their last tournament together, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, in January.

Henderson ranked outside the top 20, and missed cuts twice, in her next 10 tournaments before her re-emergence at the Women’s PGA Championship.

Her cousin Ryan Henderson took over caddie duties for veteran John Killeen at the end of May.

“Having my sister on my bag for 11 seasons, she’s my best friend and being able to travel around the world together was honestly a dream come true,” Henderson said.

“The transition period between my sister and my cousin was challenging. I had a veteran caddie out on tour and he was amazing, but I was travelling by myself.

“It was very lonely, but now I’m travelling a little bit more with my cousin, which is great.”

Brittany still serves as a remote caddie.

“She was in labour and I sent her putting videos and she helped me with my putting,” Henderson said.

As for her engagement, Henderson said after she woke from a post-travel nap, the couple went to the lake to read Scripture.

“After we finished reading, he just talked to me for like a minute. I saw a person with a camera, like not too far away, and I was like ‘ oh, that’s weird.’ Then he got down on one knee and asked me, and it was really easy to say yes,” she recounted.

“He did everything right. He asked my dad, my mom, my grandma, my sister if it was OK. He’s just an amazing man, and I’m really grateful that he’s mine.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2026.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press