Henni Zuël

Henni Zuël

Henrietta “Henni” Zuël, formally Brockway (born 1st January 1990, in Salisbury, Wiltshire) is a British professional golfer and the youngest ever player to join the Ladies European Tour as an amateur. She was a nominee for Britain’s Best Awards for Home Grown Talent and entered the professional Ladies European Tour after turning pro in 2008.

Early years

Born in Yeovil, Henni’s interest in golf first materialised at the age of nine, when she first watched the Masterson the TV with her parents. Transfixed by the golf on display and, after watching José Maria Olazábal triumph, Henni stated her intention to become a golfer.

Upon receiving her first set of golf clubs, Henni played whenever she had a spare moment. Often, she’d practice her back garden, sometimes under floodlight, filming herself on camcorder to analyse and improve her game. Winning her first tournament, the T-peg junior golf competition in Dorset, confirmed that the practice was paying off.

1999 – 2008: Amateur career

By the time Henni was 13 years old, she’d cut her handicap to two on the way to winning 17 Opens at Under-18 level, never finishing outside the top 10 of 50 other tournaments. Henni was also personally selected by Nick Faldo as the youngest member of Team Faldo, which offered her the chance to play in such far flung places as the US and Asia.
In 2003, Henni became the Yeovil Ladies club Champion and England’s Under-13’s champion. She also won the Dorset Ladies County Championship and joined the Ladies European Tour - the youngest player ever to do so, enabling her to play alongside Sophie Gustafson, Laura Davies, Paula Marti and Karin Koch.

In 2004, Henni won the Central European Under-16 Championship and the English Under-15 Championship on the way to winning the Welsh Ladies Open in 2005 at just 15 years old. Henni also added the Welsh Ladies Golf Union Under-21 trophy to her growing list of championship wins.

The same year at the Roehampton Gold Cup, a semi professional tournament featuring a field of 30 professionals, Henni finished as the top amateur and was 2nd over, just one shot behind the winner, who was a competing professional on the European Tour.

Also in 2005, Henni shot a course record 60 on the way to winning the Weston-Super-Mere Open and qualified for the Daily Telegraph Final held in Dubai.

As part of her duties for Team Faldo, Henni won the Faldo Series East region and qualified to play the final held at the Celtic Manor Resort, the scene of Team Europe’s third successive win the following year in the Ryder Cup.
In 2006, Henni missed the cut by one shot in both the Hungarian and Tenerife Ladies Open, but did make the cut in the BMW Ladies Open. All three tournaments were on the Ladies European Tour. Henni finished as the best amateur at the Hungarian and Italian ladies events.

At Liphook Henni won the scratch trophy, setting a new course record of 7 under par from the men’s tees and breaking the men’s record by one shot. She took this good form to the Mauritian Open, where she finished 7th and gained her first top ten finish in a Ladies European Tour Event.

Henni began 2007 by winning 2nd place at the St Rule Trophy held at the famous St Andrews course in Scotland and then went on to win the Girls’ British Open Championship.

Later in the year she played for Europe in the Junior Solheim Cup in Sweden, winning her singles match and the cup with 14 points to 10 and was subsequently selected for the Great Britain & Ireland squad for 2007/08. Henni was also honoured with the Daily Telegraph’s Joyce Wethered Award.

2008: Turning professional

In early 2008 Henni realised a lifetime’s ambition by turning professional and immediately joined the Ladies European Tour, playing her first professional match in the Turkish Open.

Henni’s goals remain clearly focused. She still practices several hours a day and is determined to become European number one and, with American also beckoning, Henni’s ultimate goal to become World champion. "I want to be European No.1 and then world No.1 - without a doubt. It is just more hard work to get there. More enjoyable hard work. I just love practising and love trying to improve. I spend five to eight hours practising every day and then another two hours in the gym. Tiger has changed the game technically but also in terms of fitness and flexibility. That has helped so much.

Henni also has her sights on drawing more females into the sport by demonstrating how women can reach the top of the game and enjoy playing the sport."What I really want to do is make golf accessible to young girls and for them to see it more as a sport that can be played and enjoyed. I didn't really go out every weekend but it was something I enjoyed doing.” cite web
last = Mcleman
first = Neil
title = 18-year-old British amateur Henni Zuel to launch pro career
publisher = Daily Mirror
date = 2008-05-08
url = http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/golf/2008/05/08/18-year-old-british-amateur-henni-zuel-to-launch-pro-career-89520-20409518/
accessdate = 2008-07-01 ]

Despite having to put in countless hours of practice, Henni still has plenty of time for other activities and believes her chosen vocation has never been in the way of her enjoying life to the full."I don't feel like I've missed out on anything. I still go shopping with my friends and on cinema trips. For more girls to be play would be absolutely amazing." cite web
last = Mcleman
first = Neil
title = 18-year-old British amateur Henni Zuel to launch pro career
publisher = Daily Mirror
date = 2008-05-08
url = http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/golf/2008/05/08/18-year-old-british-amateur-henni-zuel-to-launch-pro-career-89520-20409518/
accessdate = 2008-07-01 ]

Management and David Beckham

Earlier this year, Henni signed to the same management that also looks after footballer David Beckham. Henni has said she often speaks to the football star about the pressures and pitfalls of professional sport.
"He is an inspiration to me - he has helped me a lot with advice and how to deal with different things," she says. "His work ethic is exceptional even now - he still does 60 free-kicks a week - and it is the little things which make him different. He still really loves the game so he is certainly someone I aspire to be like. We speak whenever we feel the need to and the one thing he says is: 'Just keep focused'. He inspires me to work hard and go the extra mile to achieve things." cite web
last = Mcleman
first = Neil
title = 18-year-old British amateur Henni Zuel to launch pro career
publisher = Daily Mirror
date = 2008-05-08
url = http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/golf/2008/05/08/18-year-old-british-amateur-henni-zuel-to-launch-pro-career-89520-20409518/
accessdate = 2008-07-01 ]

References