British No.1 Charley Hull admits that she has always struggled with links golf, but she feels that the prospect of a victory on home soil is getting closer as she is becoming more patient and her game has matured.
The 22-year-old from Kettering in Northamptonshire made a fast start to her career, with five top 10 finishes in 2013, which led to her becoming the youngest ever player to represent Europe in The Solheim Cup, aged 17. She earned her first Ladies European Tour victory in the 2014 Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco and then won the 2016 CME Championship on the LPGA Tour.
The world number 25 would like to record her third professional title on British soil and speaking ahead of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, she said that she felt she had a better chance than ever.
Along with the seven Scottish players in the field, there are 15 players from England teeing it up this week who will feel somewhat at home returning to the United Kingdom. Hull, who finished T44 last year at Dundonald Links in Scotland, has recorded three top 10s in Majors this year, including T6th at the ANA Inspiration, T10 at the US Women’s Open and T6th at the KMPG Women’s PGA Championship.
She said: “I obviously haven’t played links golf since the British Open last year, so it’s always nice to come back to it, especially after playing in America and those pattern golf courses. So it’s good. And I feel like my game is in good shape.
“When I was playing links golf when I was younger, it was always in the rain and the wind, so not the sunshine. You’ve got to get your landing spots correct because it’s obviously going to be rolling a lot more and plays a lot more from the bunkers into the trouble.
“I feel like I’m playing well this year. I’ve had five Top 10s and all of them — three Top 10s in majors. I’m just getting closer and closer, so I know what it takes now. I prefer the major golf courses. I prefer harder golf courses. I don’t like them when they’re short and fat, but when they’re long and tight, I prefer it.
“I think I’ve grown up and I’ve got more shots now, but back then I just wanted to hit it high and far and stop it dead, but you’ve gotta have more imagination. So next week will be a challenge, I think, and I think a British Open would be kind of a harder one to win. But I feel like as my game has matured, I’m getting closer to performing better in a British Open if you know what I mean.
“This is a big event. Obviously next week is the major, the Ricoh Women’s British Open, and I think this is a good warm up for it, but I also want to do really well. It is a big event. Anything in the UK to me is a big event.”
Charley will begin her quest for the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open trophy at 11.50am on Thursday, when she will play with So Yeon Ryu and Karrie Webb.
