By Scott Grayston
At the tender age of 22, Charley Hull has competed in the Olympics, won two tournaments and participated in three Solheim Cups so she’s already got an impressive golfing repertoire but now she’s looking to kick on and adding more titles to her CV is her main focus.
Hull is competing in Abu Dhabi for the first time this week in the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open and is looking forward to the challenge after a busy training schedule during the off-season.
“I love being back in the UAE because it’s the perfect place to start the season in the sunshine,” says the English golfer. “I’ve been working hard and practicing lots during the break on my short game and other areas so hopefully it pays off. I had a good season last year with six top 10s on the LPGA but missed out on sealing a victory so I want to achieve that this year.”
The event is being played on the stunning Saadiyat Beach Golf Club which is a course the long-hitting Hull thinks she’ll flourish on.
“I’m a huge fan of Saadiyat Beach Golf Club,” added Hull. “It’s really nice and scorable and I’m hoping I can shoot some low rounds here in the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open. This Pro-Am tournament will be a great warm-up ahead of another season the LPGA Tour where my season commences in Australia in early February.”
As well as participating in the event, the ladies are helping promote the sport at grassroots level and getting more girls into the sport through the #ThisGirlGolfsUAE activation. Hull feels this is great for the growth of the sport: “For the future of the game, it’s important to put back into the sport and encourage more girls to take up the game. It’s brilliant work by everyone involved in this.”
In September the Solheim Cup takes place at Gleneagles with Hull looking to compete in the biennial event for the fourth time in succession. In 2013, when just 17 years old, she was the youngest competitor to compete in the history of the Solheim Cup and proved if you’re good enough you’re old enough after beating Paula Creamer in the singles and also winning one of the two pairs matches as Europe destroyed USA 18-10. USA have won the last two tournaments but there doesn’t seem to be any rivalry between the two teams so far on Tour – not in Hull’s case anyway.
“There’s no tension between the European and American girls – not for me anyway! I just go out and concentrate on my own business! I didn’t even watch much of the Ryder Cup. “When I’m not golfing I like to switch off from the sport and watch other things like boxing, tennis and football with my boyfriend. Liverpool are my favourite team so I hope they can keep going and win the league this season.”
Winning titles seems to be running through Hull’s genes this season.
