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Charley Hull is no slouch, but the shade she received from a fellow Englishwoman was interesting to read.
Nelly Korda and Charley Hull are two of the biggest stars on the LPGA.
Korda earned her 10th victory and second of this 2024 season at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship to reclaim the World No. 1 spot. Meanwhile, Hull finished tied for 10th and had a shot to win, but wasn’t able to get over that hump.
Despite Hull being the No. 7 ranked player in the world, eight-time Solheim Cup participant and fellow Englishwoman Trish Johnson dropped the mic on Hull during a SkySports golf podcast.
“I’m probably her harshest critic because I know how good she is,” Johnson said. “She doesn’t win anywhere near enough for her talent, and she doesn’t get involved enough.”
“The thing with Charley is that you’re never going to change her. I read something the other day that said how much she loves the game, and it’s her love of the game [that costs her]. She’s never going to change. She’s just going to go for every pin.”
There is something to be said for being aggressive. But clearly Johnson has the perception that Hull’s aggression is what is holding her back from becoming a superstar in women’s golf.
She then dropped the hammer that pretty much everyone might agree with.
“If you put Charley Hull against Nelly Korda, then I’m picking Nelly every single day of the week,” Johnson said.
Hull is no slouch, though. As a six-time Solheim Cup player, the 28-year-old has kept herself relevant.
She has two LPGA Tour titles and three Ladies European Tour (LET) wins. Granted, the last time she won was in October 2022 at The Ascendant LPGA. However, she has come close multiple times to earning that third LPGA victory.
At the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, Hull was in contention for the title. However, a 1-over 72 Sunday and dropping three shots down the stretch kept her from winning.
Hull has four top-10 finishes this year in her last five worldwide starts. The 28-year-old has 35 career top 10s.
In 2023 alone, she had five runner-up finishes. That statistic is never one a player wants to have on their resume. However, it shows how close Hull is to having nearly as many wins as Korda.
Johnson wants her to change her playing style and believes that will get her back into the winner’s circle.
“Golf-wise, that’s the way she plays the game, and it’s a little bit like watching John Daly, I suppose,” Johnson said. “There’s something that John Daly had that made him a major winner and a winner, but Charley is kind of lacking that.”
The World No. 1 golfer is on a hot streak right now, but that doesn’t mean Hull isn’t one of the best.
Hull will go for her third LPGA victory this week at the inaugural Ford Championship before the women gear up for their 2024 major championship season at the Chevron Championship. She finished T2 there in 2016, her sophomore year on the Tour.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
