Charley Hull is hopeful that home comforts and course knowledge will help her contend as she looks to follow up on last month’s impressive US Women’s Open performance at the Women’s Open this week.
The English World No. 16 has endured a quiet season on the LPGA by her own lofty standards but reminded everyone of her quality at last month’s US Women’s Open when she finished runner-up, three shots behind eventual winner Allisen Corpuz.
Hull is yet to win a Major championship and has never placed inside the top ten at the Women’s Open but believes her previous experience playing at Walton Heath - a course just half an hour from her home - will stand her in good stead this week.
“I played here back at the end of February, beginning of March with my friend, Tom Lewis, and I really enjoyed it,” she said speaking at a pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday.
“I've actually played it a few times but not off these tees. Like, I've played it with my friends and we've both been off the backs, so it's actually playing quite short out there, and I think it will be very scoreable.
“You can kind of just see it right ahead of you, and you can kind of see like the fairways, the shapes and that where links sometimes it just feels like you're hitting into a field. It's nice, it's got the heather and the trees on it, as well, even though there's not a lot of trees. I just like the feel of it. I’ve got some good memories of this place.”
Another place that the 27-year-old will have good memories of is Pebble Beach, the site of last month's US Women’s Open. It was there, after all, that she threatened to break her Major duct with an irresistible final-round 66 featuring six birdies and an eagle in tough, blustery conditions.
It represented just her second top-five Major finish in her past three years but offered yet another glimpse at the tournament-winning consistency that has often evaded her.
“If I don't start with a birdie or a bogey and I just make a lot of pars, I get quite frustrated and bored,” Hull said reflecting on the lessons she learnt from that near miss. “If I start with a bogey, it's like, right, I've got to fight back now and it's really interesting. And if I start with birdie, it's like, let's see how many holes I can birdie.
“So I just need to take that mindset of taking every shot as it comes and have that feeling even when you're making loads of pars, you've got plenty of chances for birdies out there.”
Hull’s tournament begins at 8:20am (BST) alongside two-time Major champion, Lydia Ko and World No. 1, Nelly Korda. Much like at Pebble Beach, the British No.2 intends to hang around.
“If you look at Pebble, I didn't have the fastest of starts, but it’s all about the mindset, really, and never giving in. It's like my friend always used to say to me, 'Winners don't quit and quitters don't win,' and that's always stuck in my head.”
