Charley Hull 2023: Personal Life and Career

Introduction

Charley Esmee Hull, or as fans know her, Charley Hull, is an esteemed professional golfer who plays on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour. She was born on March 20, 1996, in Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. She became the youngest player to compete in the Solheim Cup and also won Rookie of the Year.

The golfer was first introduced to golf at the very young age of 2 years old. She began playing with her father at Kettering Golf Club. In order to pursue the sport full-time, she left school at the age of 13 and started her home-schooling journey and her amateur golfing journey.

Personal Life

The golfer was born to Basienka Hull and Dave Hull. She has two half-sisters from both her parents. Her mother is of Polish descent, but Hull likes to spend her winters in Florida with her family.

The 26-year-old has been a huge advocate of women's equality in sports and has spoken out a lot against single-sex golf clubs. She once recalled an incident wherein she was publicly discriminated against for defeating a teenage boy. She shared that she was seven years old when she was competing against a boy, and she emerged victorious in that match. After the match was over, the boy was so agitated with his loss that he swore at her.

Hull got married early in her life to a mixed martial arts fighter, Ozzie Smith. The intimate wedding ceremony took place in her hometown on September 21, 2019.

Amateur Career

Success came early to Hull, as at the age of 9, she garnered a lot of public attention when she won a significant 18-hole handicap event against adults with a score of 28 Stableford points from a handicap of 26 at Turnberry.

At the age of 10, she played alongside Morgan Pressel in the British Open Pro-Am. After her early attention, she won many amateur events in the US and Great Britain. With her wins, she was ranked in the top 10 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking, with three being her highest rank.

In 2012, when she was 15 years old, she competed on the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup team. Though she lost her fourball and foursome matches, on the third day, she won her singles match and became part of the winning team by a 10? ? 9? final score.

Her spot on the team was initially in jeopardy as she was removed from the team because she got into a dispute with the Ladies Golf Union over a mandatory training session that overlapped with the Kraft Nabisco Championship, which was a major championship on the LPGA Tour. Charley Hull was invited to compete in the major championship, and she was reinstated to the team when she finished in the 38th position at the aforementioned championship.

Professional Career

After ruling amateur golf for many years, Hull turned professional on January 1, 2013. She made her professional debut in March of that year and stunned everyone with five consecutive T2 finishes on the Ladies European Tour events: the Lalla Meryem Cup, the South African Women's Open, the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open, the Deloitte Ladies Open, and a playoff loss at the UniCredit Ladies German Open. With five additional top-ten finishes on the Ladies European Tour, she finished sixth on the tour's Order of Merit with earnings of nearly ?135,995 in the fifteen official events that she competed in.

Owing to her strong debut, Hull was awarded the 2013 LET Rookie of the Year award and was voted the Best International Newcomer by the Sports Journalists' Association. She was also presented with the Peter Wilson Trophy at the SJA British Sports Awards. Not only this, but the golfer was also on the shortlist for the BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year, but sadly, she lost to 16-year-old swimmer Josef Craig.

In her rookie year, surprisingly, Hull was selected by European skipper Leselotte Neumann to compete in the Solheim Cup. With the captain?s pick, Hull became the youngest person ever to play in the tournament. The golfer became part of a team that was the first European Solheim clan to win on U.S. soil, with a final score of 18-10.

Almost a year after her debut, in March of 2014, Hull carded his first professional victory at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco. Her win was epic, as with her stellar performance, she forced a playoff against Gwladys Nocera and then birdied the first sudden-death hole to secure the victory.

She ended the 2014 season by becoming the youngest player ever to win the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit.

Transition to the LPGA Tour

After dominating the LET for two seasons, Hull made her way to the LPGA Tour in 2015. She played on both tours in 2015 and worked on her rankings to earn a permanent spot on the LPGA Tour. Since 2015, Hull has predominantly played on the LPGA Tour.

Notable wins and achievements

In her second year on the LPGA Tour in 2016, Hull stunned everyone with five top-10 finishes. Her first win came at the CME Group Tour Championship.

In 2019, Hull won the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open at the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Hull won the opening event of the Rose Ladies Series in the UK and, in early August, finished second in the final event to top the series standings ahead of Georgia Hall.

After the tournaments resumed, in late August, she missed the cut at the AIG Women's Open. In September, she tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw from the school's second major, ANA Inspiration. In October, she finished in a tie for 7th place in the Women's PGA Championship.

Recent Achievements in 2023

2023 has been a good year for Hull. During the opening round of the Aramco Team Series in London, she carded a five-under-par 68, tying with Nelly Korda. She shot 10 birdies and a quintuple-bogey 10 on the par-5 sixth hole to shoot her stellar score. At the end of the tournament, Hull finished in second place, just 4 shots behind Korda?s 208.

This year, the LPGA star came close to winning the first major of her career. She was tied for first place with Lilia Vu after the third round at the AIG Women's Open. However, in the final round, she shot a round of 1 over and finished in second place with an overall score of 8 over.

Amateur Wins

Professional Wins

Top Major Finishes?