Tag: Charley Hull

‘I don’t think that that’s a lot to ask for’: Bronte Law unhappy how she learned Georgia Hall and Charley Hull will skip International Crown

Radio silence didn’t make for happy remaining teammates on English team after two players withdraw.

For the first time since 2018, the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown is back on the LPGA schedule.

One of the unique events on the golf calendar, the event pits the top eight countries (based on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings) against one another in match play May 4-7. This week’s tournament will be at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. It’s the fourth installment of the event.

The United States and Korea have dominated the event, but other countries are doing their best to try to take down those two, including Team England.

However, England will attempt to do so without two of its top players, Georgia Hall and Charley Hull. The duo withdrew Saturday, leaving officials scrambling to replace them. Hall told Golfweek she has struggled with her left foot for several weeks. Hull said she hasn’t felt well recently and planned to go home to see a doctor.

However, their Team England teammates don’t sound too happy with their decision. Bronte Law and Jodi Ewart Shadoff said they didn’t find out about Hall and Hull’s decision until Sunday, Law joking she found out through “Chinese whispers,” which is a game in the United Kingdom similar to the American game of telephone in which information is repeated.

“I think anyone with some level of decency would send their teammates a message that they weren’t coming, not find out from other players on tour who have heard things from them saying things at the tournament last week,” Law said during a pre-tournament press conference at TPC Harding Park. “I don’t think that that’s a lot to ask for.”

Ladies European Tour players Alice Hewson and Liz Young flew in Sunday from England to round out the four-player English squad.

“Very happy to have both Alice and Liz are here,” Law said. “They’re both very patriotic, very team-oriented, and I think that that’s a testament to kind of what this tournament is about and is more important than the individuals in the team.

“I know that they’ll fight with everything that they’ve got.”

Law said she didn’t get any messages from Hall or Hull until Tuesday, when Hull reached out to apologize for not being able to play.

“But it’s besides the point now,” she said. “We’re here, and this is our team This is Team England.”

The competition gets underway Thursday. There are eight teams in this year’s Crown: U.S., South Korea, Japan, Sweden, England, Thailand, Australia and China.

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Team England takes massive hit after last-minute withdrawals from Georgia Hall, Charley Hull for International Crown

Team England officials have been left scrambling.

LOS ANGELES – Team England suffered a devastating loss at the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown before a shot was struck.

Both Georgia Hall and Charley Hull withdrew Saturday, leaving officials scrambling to replace them. Ladies European Tour players Alice Hewson and Liz Young were en route from England on Sunday to round out the four-player squad.

Hall, ranked No. 10 in the world, is currently one of the hottest players on the LPGA and Hull, ranked 17th, isn’t far behind. Both players competed in this week’s JM Eagle LA Championship, with Hull taking a share of T-17 and Hall finishing T-44.

Former Solheim Cup players Jodi Ewart Shadoff, No. 45, and Bronte Law, 103, make up the rest of the team.

Eight countries have qualified for the event, which will be staged May 4-7 at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park. This marks the first staging of the Crown since South Korea won on home soil in 2018.

Hall told Golfweek that she’s been struggling with her left foot the past several weeks, an injury she sustained from running too much on concrete without warming up properly.

“I have a private physio I see every day,” said Hall. “I’ve been getting treatment on it every day, and he advised I need to rest it before it gets any worse.”

Hall said she plans to compete in the Cognizant Founders Cup in New Jersey the week after the Crown.

Georgia Hall and Charley Hull at the 2018 UL International Crown in Incheon, South Korea. (Photo: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Hull, who was in a hurry to catch a flight after her round, said she hasn’t been feeling well for several weeks and planned to go home to see a doctor. She plans to return to the tour in three to four weeks.

“I wish the others good luck, and sorry I couldn’t be there,” said Hull, who has twice represented England at the Crown. In 2016, Mel Reid famously played one round solo after Hull pulled out sick.

Substitutes Hewson and Young rank 172nd and 216th, respectively. Hewson has five top-20 finishes this season on the LET, including a share of second at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open. Last year, Young won her first LET title in her 14th season on the tour, one month before her 40th birthday.

There are eight teams in this year’s Crown: U.S., South Korea, Japan, Sweden, England, Thailand, Australia and China.

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Former champions Lexi Thompson, Jennifer Kupcho and World No. 1 Lydia Ko among big names who missed the cut at Chevron Championship

Players returned at 7 a.m. Saturday morning to wrap up play, with 68 players making the cut, which fell at 1 over.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — World No. 1 Lydia Ko came out early to the Chevron Championship and said she nearly ran out of balls in that first loop around the Nicklaus Course at the Club at Carlton Woods.

“To be honest, I struggled the first few times I played around this course,” Ko said earlier in the week, “and I was like, I don’t know how I’m going to do this.”

Turns out it didn’t get much better for Ko, who shot 76 with a birdie on the last hole in Round 2, finishing at 3 over for the tournament and missing the cut in a major for the first time since the 2019 AIG Women’s British Open.

Play was suspended on Friday evening due to darkness with 31 players still left to finish. They returned at 7 a.m. Saturday morning to wrap up play, with 68 players making the cut, which fell at 1 over.

While the field this week was larger than in past years (135) due to daylight savings, the cut was smaller at top 65 and ties.  For the first time in tournament history, those who missed the cut received a $5,000 stipend of unofficial money.

The World No. 1 wasn’t the only big name to bow out early. Here’s a list at the other notables who missed the cut:

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LPGA: Charley Hull, 26, revs up 2023 with runner-up finish, her first driver’s license and a new car

“I get bored with everything in life very easily,” she explained, “so I do everything so fast.”

Nearly a decade ago, Charley Hull famously thumped Paula Creamer 5 and 4 in Sunday singles at the 2013 Solheim Cup, and then Hull asked Creamer for an autograph. Hull was 17 at the time, the youngest player in Solheim Cup history, and the autograph was for a friend back home in England.

Since then, Hull has become a fixture on the LPGA, winning twice and making five Solheim Cup appearances. Her most recent victory came last fall at the Volunteers of America Classic, and she opened the 2023 season with a share of second at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

While Hull’s fast-paced, powerful game looked promising to start the season, it was a different kind of driving that proved most interesting.

Hull, who turns 27 next month, passed her driving test back home in England on the first attempt, shortly before arriving in Orlando for the season opener. She has traveled the world for most of her life but never actually drove herself.

“So in England, it’s a lot harder than it is over here,” she said of obtaining a driver’s license. “You’ve got to have so many hours and drive around the town with a driving instructor. Then before that you got to do your online – well, you got to go into a place and do all the questions.

“So I started driving after CME, and I passed my test in four weeks, so I was pretty happy with that. I only had three minors out of 15. You could get 15 wrong, but I only got three wrong, and that was right toward the end because I didn’t put my indicator on. Yeah, pretty happy with that.”

She was set to have her new car delivered less than an hour after she landed in England following the LPGA season opener.

“I wanted a Defender, the new Land Rover Defender, but I can’t get insured in it because it’s too much of a fast car,” she said. “So I got a Range Rover instead, a small one, Evoque.

“That will do for now because I think probably having a big car straight away isn’t good, especially on the small roads in England.”

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Hull warmed up for the 2023 season with a quick trip to Casablanca, but she recently moved to Sunningdale, England, to be closer to her boyfriend. Getting a driver’s license makes it easier to get back home to see family, as well.

It’s rare to have a chat with Hull and not come away having learned something interesting. She talks fast, moves fast and thinks fast.

“I get bored with everything in life very easily,” she explained, “so I do everything so fast.”

She noted her driving instructor suggested she slow down – not necessarily her speed but everything else.

Slow play can be a real drag for someone like Hull, who finds herself daydreaming and doodling in her yardage book to pass time between shots.

“People are probably thinking, she’s really looking at that green,” said Hull, “but I’m not, I’m just scribbling on it.”

Perhaps thinking about where life might take her next.

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Watch: Tiger Woods composes while Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and other TaylorMade stars sing ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’

TaylorMade always brings the heat around the holidays.

TaylorMade is usually good for a few highlight social media posts this time of year. Whether it be matching Christmas sweaters or re-creating the famous pole scene from “A Christmas Story,” the golf-equipment giant brings the heat during the holidays.

This year, it’s much of the same.

Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood and Charley Hull are the stars of the 2023 edition, as the latter five sing “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” with the 15-time major champ acting as the composer. Well, four of them sing while the world No. 1 tries to find the right page.

If you’re wondering who pulled off the old-school look the best, look no further than Tommy Fleetwood.

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Long-bombing Chiara Noja, 16, defeats her childhood idol, Charley Hull, in a playoff in Saudi Arabia

“Before we went out, my dad showed Charley a picture of me with her as a 10-year-old. It’s like a full circle, it’s a blessing.”

High school senior Chiara Noja won on the Ladies European Tour at the Aramco Team Series Jeddah, defeating her childhood idol, Charley Hull, in a playoff.

Noja, 16, carded a final-round 65 at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club to get to 13 under, while Hull birdied four of her last six holes. Noja, a powerful player who stands six feet tall, birdied back-to-back holes in the playoff to secure the title.

Earlier in the week, Noja joked that she needed to win so that she didn’t need more school after accidentally bringing the wrong books to study in Jeddah.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in quite yet,” said Noja of her victory. “I think the happiness will come later this evening. Before we went out, my dad showed Charley a picture of me with her as a 10-year-old. It’s like a full circle, it’s a blessing.

“I’ve worked hard over a lot of years now to be able to not back out of shots and commit to everything that I do and not be afraid to fail.”

Before 16-year-old Chiara Noja defeated Charley Hull on the LET, she took a picture with her idol six years ago. (Courtesy LET)

The LET’s Aramco Team Series is comprised of five events staged across the globe. The Saudi-backed events remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.

Other Aramco winners this year include Manon De Roey, Bronte Law, Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson.

Noja first played on the LET as a 14-year-old amateur at the Dubai event. After a second-round 86 sent her spiraling, however, she later admitted on Instagram that back at the hotel, she couldn’t imagine going back on the course for the final round.

“I was unable to deal with the pressure,” wrote Noja, “and the fact that millions of people were watching on TV, and consequently had a complete meltdown.”

She’s come a long way since then, with a victory and five additional top-three finishes on the LET Access Series this season, finishing second on the Order of Merit to earn her LET card for 2023.

A couple weeks later, she’s already won on that tour. Noja said she hasn’t a clue what comes next.

“I can’t even begin to fathom it,” she said. “I’m just going to try and relax tonight. Maybe have a burger and sleep, probably the best night sleep I’m ever going to get and see how I feel.”

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Charley Hull gives field the boot, wins 2022 Ascendant LPGA to end six year drought

The win is Hull’s first on the LPGA since the 2016 CME Group Tour Championship.

Charley Hull had so much fun shooting a 7-under 64 on Friday that she did it again on Sunday.

Tied after the first three rounds with Xiyu Lin, Hull made four birdies over her final seven holes to separate for a one-shot win at 18 under at the 2022 Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America at Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas.

The win is Hull’s second on the LPGA and first since the 2016 CME Group Tour Championship. The 26-year-old Englishwoman also has a trio of wins on the Ladies European Tour.

“I love a challenge, and this golf course is challenging. I play off the backs at home, off the back tees with the boys, and I always try and push myself to tricky golf courses when I’m at home so when I’m on tour, they are a bit shorter and a good length,” Hull explained. “So this week, I felt like it very much suited my game, and yeah, I found it very scorable for myself.”

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Lin and Lydia Ko each shot 6-under 65 in the final round to finish second and third, respectively, with last week’s winner, Atthaya Thitikul, in fourth at 12 under.

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Xiyu Lin, Charley Hull tied for lead, Celine Boutier and Lydia Ko one back at Ascendant LPGA

Sunday should be a good one down in Texas.

It’s a tightly-packed leaderboard after round three of the Ascendant LPGA Benefiting Volunteers of America at Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas.

Xiyu Lin and Charley Hull are tied for the lead at 11 under, while Celine Boutier and Lydia Ko sit one back with 18 holes left to play.

Lin got around Old American on Saturday with a 2-under 69, while Hull couldn’t get much going, firing an even-par round of 71.

Boutier signed for the second-best round of the day, a 5-under 66, which could have been a lot better if she took advantage of the par 5s (she birdied just one of four).

Ascendant LPGA: Leaderboard

After turning with a 2-under 33, Ko’s round was derailed a bit thanks to a double-bogey five at the par-3 11th. However, she made four birdies in her last seven holes to bounce back. She finished day three with a 4-under 67.

Lexi Thompson is T-9 at 7 under while Madelene Sagstrom is T-13 at 6 under.

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Hannah Green wins the $1 million Aon Risk Reward Challenge

What defines a great year at work? How about one that includes a $1 million performance bonus! For Hannah Green, the fourth-year LPGA Tour professional, that’s exactly how the 2021 season turned out. Since 2019, Aon, a leading global professional …

What defines a great year at work? How about one that includes a $1 million performance bonus! For Hannah Green, the fourth-year LPGA Tour professional, that’s exactly how the 2021 season turned out.

Since 2019, Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, has sponsored the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, a season-long competition that rewards the best decision-makers on both the LPGA Tour and PGA TOUR. At each tournament, the golfer’s two best scores on the pre-determined Challenge hole will count (minimum 40 rounds). The player on each Tour with the lowest average score to par pockets the $1 million prize.

Green, 24, has two LPGA Tour victories in 78 career starts and $2.2 million in lifetime earnings. Which makes the $1 million payout life-altering. “I want to buy a house during the off-season, so this gives me an opportunity to play [each season] comfortably,” said Green. “I could almost pay off my house and not have a mortgage, so it’s setting me up for after I finish playing golf.”

Consider this: Thirteen players on the LPGA Tour earned at least $1 million in prize money in 2021. (Green finished 35th on the money list with $531,507.) By comparison, 124 PGA TOUR pros surpassed the $1 million mark. That list included Matthew Wolff, the PGA Tour’s winner of the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, who pocketed more than $2.5 million in prize money (47th on the list). So, yes, the equal-to-the-men, $1 million award is a huge deal for Green and all of women’s golf. “Congratulations to Hannah on her performance throughout the season to win the Aon Risk Reward Challenge,” said Jennifer Bell, Chief Executive Officer, North America at Aon. “At Aon, we’re committed to creating a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive, ensuring we deliver more innovative solutions for clients and help them make better decisions. When we created the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, our goal was to create a platform where achievements could be equally celebrated across the men’s and women’s game. We’re so proud of this program and the level of skill and quality of decision making we continue to see week in and week out throughout the challenge on both Tours.”

Green, a native of Perth, Australia, showed the heart of a champion in capturing the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Cambia Portland Classic in 2019. This year, on the designated Aon Risk Reward Challenge holes, she was a shrewd decision maker and clutch shotmaker, particularly in the latter stages of the competition. Following a break for the 2020 Summer Olympics (where she finished T5), Green competed in six of the tournaments that counted toward the contest. She carded 12-under par (eight birdies, two eagles, two pars) on the 12 Challenge holes. For the season, she made birdie or eagle on 80-percent of them.

With four events remaining in the year-long competition, the Aussie took over the top spot at the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer in early October. She never relinquished the lead. The Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, No. 18 at Seaview Golf Club (Bay), is a reachable par-5. In Round 1, Green made eagle on the 507-yard hole. She proceeded to back it up with birdie in Round 3. Both days, she drove it in the fairway and made the decision to go for the green on the second shot. The approach in Round 1 finished pin-high and she rolled in the long eagle putt from across the green. At tournament’s end, the closest pursuers were Charley Hull, Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko in second, third and fourth place, respectively. Previous leader, Hyo Joo Kim, fell to 5th after recording par-bogey and withdrawing prior to Round 3 due to a reported muscle cramp.

The next week, at the Cognizant Founders Cup in northern New Jersey, the top five spots remained unchanged. In the penultimate Challenge event, the BMW Ladies Championship in late October, Green and Hull both posted a pair of birdies on the 505-yard par-5 11th hole at LPGA International Busan, to remain in 1st and 2nd position, respectively. Green’s tee shot found the fairway in all four rounds and then she hit the green in two each time. She was able to execute her game plan and the calculated approach paid off. “I knew straightaway what I needed to do,” she said. “My caddie, Nate, and I ran all the scenarios. I had to make two birdies to improve my overall score. I was able to do it so quite a big moment for us.” Kim moved into 3rd by virtue of an eagle and birdie. Thompson held down 4th while Ko dropped to 5th.

Since Hannah Green had built a sizable lead and met the requirement for rounds played, she opted not to participate in the final Aon Risk Reward Challenge tournament, the Pelican Women’s Championship, in Belleair, Florida. It was another shrewd decision that paid off. When those trailing Green didn’t go low enough to catch up, the $1 million prize was hers.

Hannah Green showed plenty of moxie and made better decisions throughout the season. And, when it mattered most, she outdistanced the field with near-flawless execution.

Mel Reid calls this Europe’s strongest Solheim Cup team ever, but can it win on American soil with virtually no fans?

The European Solheim Cup team is deep, but winning on foreign soil remains a tall task.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Mel Reid has declared this the strongest European Solheim Cup team to date.

Can they win on American soil for only the second time in Solheim history?

In a year in which Americans have won seven titles on the LPGA, compared to Europe’s two, and carry the biggest home-field advantage in Cup history due to pandemic travel restrictions, picking Europe to win the contest at the Inverness Club might seem risky.

After all, the Americans boast an average world ranking of 26 compared to Europe’s 44 and are led by World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who has a built-in partner in big sister Jessica.

But Reid makes a strong case, and when it comes to this team’s overall performance in the Solheim Cup, on paper, Europe is better.

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Europe’s team of 12 has an overall record of 42-32-11, compared to Team USA’s 27-24-13. In fact, only four Americans have ever been on a winning team: Austin Ernst (2017), Danielle Kang (2017), Lizette Salas (2015, 2017) and Lexi Thompson (2015, 2017).

Team Europe is more experienced too, having competed in a combined 22 Solheim Cups compared to USA’s 17. It’s the four rookies, however, that Reid considers to be Europe’s biggest asset.

“All these girls, they’re not scared of the American team,” said Reid. “I think before we’ve had a few players who have never played against a Jess Korda, never played against a Danielle Kang, whereas these girls all have.”

Golf Channel analyst Karen Stupples, a major winner who competed in two Solheim Cups, is working as a helper this week for captain Catriona Matthew, and she agrees with Reid’s assessment.

“I honestly can’t think of a team that I would’ve classed as being stronger than this one on the European side,” she said. “I really can’t.”

With all four European rookies competing full-time on the LPGA, there’s a built-in familiarity with players on both sides, as well as the familiarity of playing on American soil on LPGA-type setups.

The only full-time LET player on the roster, Emily Pedersen, has competed on the LPGA in the past and is making her second Solheim Cup appearance in the U.S. as a much more mature and seasoned player.

Even rookie Leona Maguire, the first Irish player to compete in a Solheim Cup, can already tell that ego won’t be an issue in the European team locker room.

“We’re going to have to be each other’s No. 1 fans this week,” said Maguire, “especially with not as many crowds in our favor, and just embracing that and I think the girls, with it.”

England’s Charley Hull calls it one of the most enjoyable teams she’s played on. Hull is one of three players who was on the 2013 team that pummeled the U.S. by eight points in Colorado. It marked the only time Europe has won on U.S. soil.

Hull won her first Solheim Cup point that year on her dad’s birthday. European players will compete this week without many of their loved ones, including parents, in Toledo due to pandemic travel restrictions. There will be a few significant others and friends on hand, but for the most part, they’ll rely on the Junior Solheim Cup team to bring the noise for Team Europe. The youngsters have already set the tone, giving Europe its first Junior Solheim victory on foreign soil.

“The only way we are going to win this thing,” said Reid, “especially with the amount of fans that are going to be cheering USA, is if we become a unit. I think that’s very important from the setoff.”

Looking back on 2013, Hull said she might have found it easier as a rookie because she didn’t quite know what she was getting into. But she knows what it’s like to pull off the upset on American soil, and she’s keen on the idea of being the underdog with few supporters.

“I enjoy that,” said Hull. “I kind of bounce off that more.”

That’s precisely the attitude Stupples believes it will take to win this week. She can’t think of a group of players that’s better suited for it.

“You’re going to have to play in your bubble and really knuckle down and really enjoy the fight,” she said. “Enjoy what’s ahead of you.”

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