English golf star Charley Hull is raring to go at Centurion Club this week at the PIF London Championship, after an excellent T2 finish at the AIG Women’s Open last week which is the third event on the PIF Global Series in 2025 taking place from 8-10 August.
Charley, you come into this week off the back of a great week last week, obviously second place. How was that? I think you said that you potentially weren’t even going to make the cut.
No, it was good. I feel good coming into this week. I played really well the last two rounds last week.
From Friday afternoon, I played very well. I find links golf very hard, especially when I didn’t quite come into the event as fit as I wanted to.
I was ill and I hurt my back, and links golf is not my comfort zone. When you’re not comfortable and don’t feel quite pure in it, I’m more nervous for a week like that.
But my coach Matt, my putting coach Nick, and I worked very hard that week to get me where I am in my game, so big credit to them.
What did you need to do in your game specifically?
I was working on getting my hands more forward when putting because they were too far behind the ball. I also had too much wrist in my backswing with my coach on my full shot, so I was eliminating the wrist movement.
I was working on staying more grounded through the ball on the way through — just random things like that.
When I was ill at Evian, I fainted three times, lost my balance, and then pulled my back out the week before.
All these things felt like the world was against me, which was really frustrating because I had been looking forward to the British Open all year.
On Wednesday night, I said to someone that I didn’t think I would make the cut and couldn’t picture it in my head.
The next day we warmed up with a much shorter routine than usual, just an hour and a half before tee time instead of my usual longer warmup.
So I just worked hard to get my feel back, and by Sunday, I didn’t feel like I struck a bad shot.
How are you feeling now?
All good. I took Tuesday off because I was absolutely knackered, had so much adrenaline coming in, and the wind is tiring.
I’m getting ready for this week, playing on home soil, so I’m really looking forward to it.
You love your fitness. Are you still off it at the moment?
Yes, I’ve been off for six weeks now. It’s been annoying. I was about to get back into it this week, then I rolled my ankle yesterday in the car park.
I have an MRI coming up soon, but I probably won’t be able to train for another three weeks. There’s always something.
Charley, the crowds in Wales were electric. How does that affect you mentally? Does it help your game?
I really loved it. It was electric, especially at 14 on Sunday. It was so good. It’s a shame about my finish because 15 is a tricky par three.
I hit a perfect shot that ended up just short on a tricky downhill putt. The next hole, the wind was strong from the left, and driver would have put me in the bunker, so I used a rescue club.
I hit it on the right edge, about a yard right of the bunker. I thought the ball would move because of the wind, but I hit it too pure and it went straight into the bunker. I made bogey there.
On 17, I hit a lovely shot into the green — a hole where even hitting 10 balls into the same spot results in 10 different positions.
I missed the putt, but I aimed where I thought it was going to break and hit the right stroke. On 18, I had a chip shot over the bunker, a good flop, but didn’t hold the putt.
At the end of the day, being 11 back going into the weekend was really good, and having the crowds behind me was really encouraging.
I felt a lot of pressure with family, friends, and crowds watching, but it showed me the extra practice I put in paid off even when I wasn’t feeling 100%. I love playing in the UK and I really like Wales.
We heard from Celine Boutier earlier about the impact of Golf Saudi with their support for events like this and players like yourself. Could you give an example of their impact on you or other players?
When I first went to Saudi in 2020, there weren’t really any women playing golf there. Over the next few years, the amount of young kids playing golf there has been unbelievable.
It’s had a massive impact. It’s brilliant what they do for the game. They put on big events for us and are very generous with how they treat us — players’ lounges, physios, everything. It’s really good for women’s golf.
Well done last week. I missed the beginning of the press conference. Regarding your health — the golf game was fantastic last week, but are you feeling 100% again?
Yes, I feel 100%. I was buzzing yesterday coming out of physio after getting my back tape on. I booked a four or five-hour practice session with my coach last Wednesday, which is nice and quiet and I love practicing.
I was really excited all week. Coming out of the locker room, I had a skip in my step because I love practicing.
But then I fell over a curb in the car park and was lying on the floor shouting for my boyfriend to come get me.
The security guard was watching me and I heard my ankle pop. I thought I broke it. Someone picked me up and put me in the car.
I went down so quickly, I nearly fainted. I was not sure if I was overreacting. I started moving my ankle and it’s nowhere near as bad as I thought.
I will get an MRI today. I’m gutted I couldn’t practice yesterday and took Monday and Tuesday off. I usually feel guilty if I take more than two days off practice.
Up until three years ago, I never took more than one or two days off golf. Over Christmas I took five or six days, but that was the maximum. I just want to go out and hit some balls to see how it feels. I’m a very clumsy person.
It seems like this is a regular occurence with you? (said jokingly)
Yes, people say that. Thomas Bjorn was watching me on the floor and said every time he sees me, I’m lying down somewhere.
I don’t do it on purpose; I’m naturally clumsy. My sister is the clumsiest person I know, and I used to make fun of her for it. I fell over in the middle of the road about two years ago. It runs in my dad’s genes.
Speaking of your dad, I saw him walking around on the course on Sunday. Is he aware of that? I heard he doesn’t really watch you.
No, not really. He likes to find a mound in the grass and sit down. He gets nervous watching me but he’s the most relaxed dad ever.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. He was never pushy when I was younger. He only got angry once.
I was about seven years old and had a golf lesson with my coach Kevin Theobald. I wouldn’t listen and insisted on doing things my way.
The coach told me off, and I didn’t like it. After hitting balls, I was supposed to pick them up and put them in the practice bag, but I was upset. I got my seven iron and hit low shots at my coach to say “don’t tell me off again.” My dad saw this from 20 yards away and came over to tell me off.
When we got home, he snapped all my golf clubs. I cried, and the next day he bought me a new set of clubs. Apart from that, he never told me off.
As long as I give it my all and try my best, that’s all he wants. I think that’s important for kids growing up in golf — parents need to find the right balance so kids love the game. Credit to my dad for that.
Back to fitness — you’re going to have an MRI, yes?
Yes, probably later today. I was looking forward to this event all year. I will be teeing up tomorrow. I just want to make sure everything is 100%.
My luck has been a bit annoying lately — one thing after another. But hitting balls shouldn’t be an issue.
The physios are more worried about me for the rest of the season. I have some good events coming up. It’s good the injury happened now and not before this week.
One last thing — you’re on the team for the International Crown?
Yes, I’m looking forward to that. I’m definitely going to play, probably the two events in Korea: the International Crown and the Korean event. The BMW is good too.
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