Women’s golf is in a stronger place than it has ever been at the moment. There is more TV coverage and general media exposure and, perhaps most importantly as far as the players are concerned, the prize money on offer has risen dramatically, especially over the past five years or so.
Back in May 2024, it was announced that the US Women’s Open would see total prize money increase from $11m to $12m, making it the richest event in the sport. The winner, Japan’s Yuka Saso, took home a very cool $2.4m which is an astonishing sum given the top prize in 1990 was just $85,000.
One of the players who will be hoping to make the most of the enhanced profile of the sport is England’s Charley Hull. Now 28 years old, she rather burst onto the scene when she became the youngest player in Solheim Cup history in 2013. Aged just 17 she helped Europe to their first win in America and claimed two points, including a win in the singles.
The early stage of her career was glorious, and she was crowned the LET Rookie of the Year in 2013. She came second in five consecutive events and boasted a further five top 10s to finish sixth on the Order of Merit. The following year, shortly before her 18th birthday she landed her first pro win and went on to become the youngest player ever to top the money list and win the LET Order of Merit.
Photo credit: David Wilson, flickr
2015 Sees Switch to LPGA
Whilst Kettering native Hull still played in Europe, since 2015 she has spent more and more of her time in the States, playing on the American LPGA Tour. She gained her first win on that tour in 2016. Then, despite some very strong and consistent showings, she had to wait until 2022 to land her second. In between those wins she added two more LET victories, despite spending less time on this side of the Atlantic and her career was still going strong.
However, there has been a little bit of a lull in her career over the past couple of years. Whilst the trajectory of her world ranking has generally been upwards, she endured two years without any wins but that ended recently, and now the future looks very bright for her as she enters what should be the peak years of her career.
Hull Wins in Saudi
Hull produced a brilliant closing round of 66 on the 2nd of November 2024 to end her wait for a title. She shot 18 under par over three days at the Aramco Team Series event in Saudi Arabia to easily see off Danish golfer Nicole Broch Estrup who finished three back. She was incredibly consistent, shooting 65-67-66 at an event where scoring was good.
She had begun the final round two shots adrift of Slovenia’s Pia Babnik but her 73 left the door ajar and Hull strode right through. She started well, with five birdies inside the first seven holes seeing her surge into the lead and she never looked back. After ending her two-year wait for a title she said, “I felt really sharp, I played very solidly”, which was putting it mildly after a brilliant performance.
The win landed Hull just over $69,000 and was her second win in this series after she won the New York event back in 2021. She beat Nelly Korda by a single shot back then, her victory worth the much smaller sum of a little shy of $26,000. Hull’s win has also helped her climb up the world rankings a little and she is now ranked 13th.
She remains a long way behind the woman she beat in New York, with Korda streets ahead of everyone else in the number one spot. Even so, Hull will hope that this win can be the start of something special as she attempts to deliver fully on the incredible potential she showed as a teenager.
Ranking Moving the Right Way … Now for a Major?
The target for any top golfer, male or female, is to win a major. Initial targets may be to establish themselves as a tour regular and then win any tournament, but any player in and around the top 100 in the world has to dream of landing one of the game’s biggest prizes. The other aim for those a little higher up the rankings may be to make it all the way to number one and on both fronts, the signs are positive for Hull.
Charley Hull claims first win since 2022 with incredible display in Riyadh 🏆
Final round report ⬇️
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 2, 2024
Her win in Riyadh saw her climb two places in the world rankings to 13th spot. She spent a lot of the earlier part of this season inside the top 10, peaking at seven, so she clearly has the ability to land a major. Her world ranking has been moving the right way, in broader terms, for some time, after something of a drop between 2017 and 2021. It dropped from 352 in 2012 down to 16 in 2016, before steadily worsening to a place outside the top 30 in both 2020 and 2021. However, she ended 2022 in 17th, finishing eighth 12 months on, and is once again looking every bit a top-10 golfer. Will 2025 be the year she lands her maiden major?
She has nine top 10s in the Big Five (there are five majors for women), including four top-three finishes. Three of those came in 2022 and 2023, whilst in 2024 she was consistent (four cuts made and a lowest finish of T23), without ever really contending. As said, she is 28 now, and really should be entering the best years of her career. Could 2025 be her year? We think it might well be!