Women’s Open: Charley Hull & Lottie Woad offer hope of another home winner at Royal Lytham & St Annes
The week has clearly started on a lighter note for the Kettering professional, but he is dead serious about the challenges ahead.
Had Hull performed better than the big five runners-up, they would have continued the remarkable story of English success in this event when staged at Royal Lytham and St Annes.
Scotland’s Catriona Matthew was crowned champion in 2009 and nine years later England’s Georgia Hall triumphed over the famous Lancashire connections.
Hull and world number five Lottie Woad are among the favorites for this race, the last of the year’s five majors. Unlike Blackpool’s lottery tickets, Lytham’s hope of continuing his habit of identifying UK champions is real.
“It’s frustrating, very frustrating,” Hull says of his greatest career to date. “I feel like people can put a little pressure on you sometimes because at the end of the day, I’m human too.”
World No.
Although he ultimately came up short at Riviera, the British star made hole shots in the closing holes that might have been enough for victory. They showed he has what it takes to win a major.
“If you look at the putt on 17, I had to hole out first on 18,” he recalled. “And on the 18th hole, I hit a beautiful shot into the green, a shot that went over 175 yards.
“It was a very good shot, then I chipped in and then put the putt in the hole, so I had the guts. Nelly played well that week.”
A year ago, Hull posted a three-under-par final round at Royal Porthcawl to finish second, two shots behind Miyu Yamshita.
The pain of that defeat was compounded this week when Hull traveled to Lytham and saw posters showing past champions.
“It would be great to think that one day if I won first place I could sleep at night,” Hull said.
The world number seven won the Saudi Women’s International Championships earlier this year but admits the rest of the season has been mixed. His second-place finish at the US Open is the highlight to date.
Hull has struggled with injury problems and admitted this week will be a tough mental test despite the enthusiastic support expected at home.
“If you don’t play well, you feel like you let everyone down,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, that’s life. If you make a bad shot, you’re not going to die. I just go out there and have fun.”
