Charley Hull still is searching for her first major championship in women’s golf, but she has found the path forward.
Hull matched the low round of the U.S. Women’s Open, shooting 6-under-par 66 on Sunday in the final round at Pebble Beach Golf Links to finish in a tie for second.
“I got off to a fast start,” said Hull, 27, of England, who finished at 6-under 282, tied with Jiyai Shin, three strokes behind winner Allisen Corpuz. “I just played really well. Felt really confident going into today's round and very happy with it.
“I’ve been so focused. I’ve been working on my game hard. Today, it clicked.”
Hull started the final round at even par, seven strokes behind 54-hole leader Nasa Hataoka, and kick-started her day with an eagle at the par-5 second hole. She added birdies at Nos. 3 and 4 before dropping a stroke at the par-3 fifth. Hull got it back immediately with a birdie at the par-4 sixth hole and made the turn in 4-under 32 and on the first page of the leaderboard. With birdies at Nos. 10 and 11, she surged into contention. After a lost stroke at the 13th seemingly ended her run as Corpuz began to pull away, Hull birdied the par-4 16th. When a driver and a 3-wood left her bunkered short left at the seaside par-5 18th hole, she blasted to about 10 feet, but her birdie attempt grazed the edge of the cup.
“I’m not playing for second place."
Charley Hull
For Hull, it was her second top-10 finish in nine starts in the U.S. Women’s Open and her eighth top-10 result in major championships.
Hull, an amateur star who turned pro at age 16, is a two-time winner on the LPGA and has added three titles on the Ladies European Tour. She figures to be a key player for Europe against the Americans in this year’s Solheim Cup. Hull has compiled an 11-5-3 record in five previous Solheim Cups, three of them European victories.
In the weeks preceding the U.S. Women’s Open, Hull had struggled. She missed the cut at the Women’s PGA and the Meijer LPGA Classic in her two previous starts in slipping to No. 28 in the Rolex Rankings. The co-runner-up in the USWO was only her third top-10 result in 11 starts this season on the LPGA.
Now, she will turn her attention toward the next major championship, later this month in France.
“I’m not playing for second place,” Hull said. “I've been working hard on my swing last week when I was at home, so I feel really confident and just carrying on working on that, and can't wait for the Evian Championship now.”
Steve Harmon