England's Charley Hull will chase a maiden major title in 2024; six-time Solheim Cup player last won on the LPGA Tour in 2022 and Ladies European Tour in 2021; Watch the LPGA Tour throughout the season live on Sky Sports Golf
Thursday 28 March 2024 06:19, UK
Charley Hull is at a career high in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings and contends regularly on both sides of the Atlantic, but should the Englishwoman be reaching the winner's circle more often?
Hull is up to seventh in the latest world rankings after a top-10 placing at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, her fourth in five worldwide starts this year, and only a costly finish denied her ending higher up the leaderboard.
The 28-year-old dropped three shots over her closing two holes to end four strokes behind Nelly Korda, a fortnight on from squandering a final-round lead and finishing second at an Aramco Team Series event on the Ladies European Tour.
Hull also finished third on the LET at the Aramco Ladies International, following a share of seventh at the LPGA Tour's season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, although she remains without a worldwide victory since 2022.
She only has two LPGA Tour titles and three Ladies European Tour wins since turning professional in 2013, with former Solheim Cup star Trish Johnson believing Hull doesn't win enough for the skill she possesses.
Asked if Hull is as successful as she should be, Johnson told the Sky Sports Golf podcast: "Not even close. I'm probably her harshest critic, because I know how good she is. She doesn't win anywhere near enough for her talent, and she doesn't get involved enough, in all honestly.
"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 and she's just going to go for every pin.
"In theory that's great, but it won't win you golf tournaments, it just won't because she's not that much better than anybody else. If you put Charley against Nelly Korda, then I'm picking Nelly every single day of the week."
Hull features at the inaugural Ford Championship presented by KCC, live this weekend on Sky Sports Golf, which is the penultimate LPGA Tour event before the women's major season begins at the Chevron Championship next month.
The six-time Solheim Cup player was a two-time runner-up in majors last year and had five second-place finishes in 2023 overall, and Johnson questions whether Hull's style of play prevents her from winning more frequently.
"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. Her talent is not in question, but maybe her application is.
"Maybe it's just the case of her never changing and that will cost her golf tournaments, there's no two ways about it. You cannot go for every pin because that's the way you play and it being fun, as other players are better than that and you have to have course management."
Former DP World Tour golfer Oli Fisher joins Johnson and regular host Josh Antmann to reflect on a busy week in the sport, where Jesper Svensson won the Singapore Classic and Peter Malnati impressed at the Valspar Championship.
Nick Dougherty joins to talk about the 'Unleash Your Drive' campaign, plus there's a discussion about the worst ever opening tee shots and a look ahead to this week's events live on Sky Sports.
Download and listen to the latest Sky Sports Golf podcast and don't forget to subscribe via Spotify, Spreaker or Apple Podcasts! If you'd like to contact the podcast, then you can email at golf@skysports.com.
Watch the LPGA Tour action live this weekend from Arizona on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Saturday from 10pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour majors and more with NOW.
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