Who Is Esther Henseleit? Exploring Lifestyle, Career and More of LPGA’s German Powerhouse

Many amazing golfers from Germany have graced not only the women’s European circuit but also the LPGA Tour, such as Caroline Masson and Olivia Cowan. Another German woman golfer who is gaining prominence in the golf landscape through her impressive gameplay is Esther Henseleit. The German national first established herself on the Ladies European Tour and soon made her way across the Atlantic for her LPGA career.

Henseleit’s rise has not been linear on the greens; some years have been great while others not so much, but she surely knows the meaning of hard work. Despite not yet earning her maiden victory on the American circuit and failing to qualify for the 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic, the German golfer’s extreme talent and determination to succeed have captured the attention of many in the golf world. Let’s learn more about the young golfer.

The early life of Esther Henseleit

Henseleit was born on January 14th, 1999, and grew up in Varel, Germany, with her parents and two sisters. The 25-year-old did her kindergarten and primary schooling in a small German town, Niedersachsen. In 2005, she went to the Freie Waldorfschule in Oldenburg and successfully finished her A-Levels in 2018.

Talking about how the spark for golf emerged in her, she went to a golf course for the first time when she was just nine years old. She accompanied her mother to the venue. She immediately felt a passion for the sport and started playing at the Golfclub am Meer. Heinseleit’s first win came in the form of Niedersachsen U 12 in 2010.

After her first win, the German golfer never looked back. In 2011, she was the winner of the Niedersachsen U12 Championship again and also won the Austrian Juniors Open U12. 2012 also proved to be great for her amateur career, as she emerged triumphant in the German Championship Girls U14. In 2013, she took a big step towards progress in her golfing career as she moved from Golf Club am Meer to Hamburg Golf Club Falkenstein. She thought it would give better long-term prospects for her development through the presence of the women’s team in the first league. Henseleit was right about that decision, as she kept progressing and eventually reached her final year as an amateur in 2018. It was a spectacular year for the German national, as she won the 2018 European Ladies’ Club Trophy and the German National Amateur Championship.

The prodigy’s life since turning pro in 2019

Esther Henseleit turned pro in the year 2019. She finished T30 at the LPGA Q-Series to earn status for the 2020 LPGA Tour season. She got her career-best finish of T30 at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open. Talking about her wins in 2019, she won that year’s season-ending Magical Kenya Ladies Open on the LET to become the third player in LET history to capture the Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year titles in the same season. Although her first year as a pro was great, her 2020 season saw her compete in nine events on the LPGA Tour, making cuts in just three of them.

In 2021, the German golfer had a notably better year compared to 2020. She competed in 19 events, making cuts in 14 of them and achieving four top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place finish at the Marathon LPGA Classic. She also ranked 48th on the money list with earnings of $435,029.Talking about how her 2022 went, she participated in 25 events and made cuts in 12 of them. Despite slipping to 88th on the money list with total earnings of $224,053, the 25-year-old achieved her season-best result with a T3 finish at the AmazingCre Portland Classic, scoring an impressive 17-under 271, missing the winner’s spot by just 2 strokes.

The year 2023 was not as good as 2021 and 2022. Although she made cuts in 16 out of the 23 events she played and climbed to 45th on the money list with earnings of $614,362, she did not secure a single win. However, she achieved a season-best runner-up result at the ISPS Handa World Invitational.

First Half of 2024:In the first half of 2024, she struggled to make top-25 finishes in most of her tournaments. However, she did finish well in two events: she finished T8 at the JM Eagle LA Championship and achieved a rank of 7 at the Chevron Championship with an impressive score of 72-72-67-70 through the rounds.

Life and interests besides golf

One of the people who has been a source of constant support both off the course and on it is her boyfriend, Reece Phillip. Henseleit’s boyfriend also happens to be her caddie.. Talking about her language fluency, she can speak German and English very well. The German golfer has an Instagram account where she currently has over 14,000 followers and likes to post a lot about golf. In her recent post, she took a hilarious dig on the US Open 2024 being tough for her as she missed the cut. The caption said, “well, that was tough 😅🤯🤪
the @usga know how to run an event, and I need a week off…”

Seeing her promising career, many of the industry giants support her. ‘TaylorMade’ is her official partner for golf equipment. Similarly, ‘Ecco’ and ‘BMW Deutschland’ are her official partners for golf shoes and vehicles, respectively. She has achieved so much at such a young age and the golfing world is eager to see more.