Wow, did you see the conditions the LPGA players were playing under on Sunday? I suppose I didn’t expect to see such brutal windy weather in California, it made me feel slightly better about what we’ve been experiencing here of late!
I tuned in during the latter stages of the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship when it was tight at the top of the leaderboard and England’s Charley Hull was still in the mix at 8-under. It was such a shame that she double-bogeyed the par-3 17th and bogeyed the 18th - if those holes had played out differently, she could have won the title, or at least been in the playoff with eventual winner Nelly Korda and Ryann O’Toole. But as we know, hindsight is a wonderful thing, especially in golf!
Despite Charley finishing in a tie for 10th place along with Korea’s Jenny Shin and Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh, I hope it hasn’t gone unnoticed that Charley has reached No 7 in the world rankings, her highest position ever, which in recent times pips fellow Englishwoman and her good friend Georgia Hall, who was ranked No 8 in 2018.
What an amazing journey she’s on and I have to remind myself that she’s still only 28-years-old…just. Charley turned pro aged 16, making her debut on the Ladies European Tour in 2013 and that year she reeled off five consecutive second place finishes. She didn’t have to wait too long before she claimed her first professional title, winning the 2014 Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco, and two more LET titles followed in 2019 and 2021.
Charley now competes predominantly on the LPGA Tour and has two titles to her name, but it’s that elusive Major title that we’re all hoping she can win this year, after finishing as runner-up in two of the five women’s Majors in 2023. Let’s hope she manages to lift the AIG Women’s Open trophy at St Andrews in August.
I want to remind you of one of her most endearing moments when in 2014 aged 17, she became the youngest ever player to compete in a Solheim Cup. Having thrashed the more experienced Paula Creamer in the singles, she asked Paula to sign a golf ball for a friend at home.
That’s the great thing about Charley, she always has an unassuming innocence. I’ve been fortunate to meet her on a few occasions and sit in on many press conferences and she's very funny without realising it, often having the media in stitches.
I’m sounding like a real fan girl, but the women’s game in the UK needs role models like Charley for the younger generation to aspire to - the way she attacks the golf ball and how she presents herself on the golf course. We can all learn from her - the wording on Surprizeshop’s Charley Hull ball marker from her own official collection at Surprizeshop sums up perfectly how we should play the game - ‘Hit it, find it, & hit it again!’
Alison Root, Women's Editor Golf Monthly
Chip and Chat Editor