Charley Hull Unfiltered Road to Royal Porthcawl: A Shot at AIG Women’s Open Glory

As the AIG Women’s Open returns to Royal Porthcawl, England’s Charley Hull prepares for her 60th shot at a major with more grit than glamour

There are golfers who fit the mold—and then there’s Charley Hull. From the moment she burst onto the scene as a nine-year-old prodigy in 2005, defeating a 46-year-old in a dramatic play-off at Turnberry, it was clear she was never going to be ordinary. Nearly two decades later, as the AIG Women’s Open arrives at Royal Porthcawl, Hull—now 29 and the top-ranked Englishwoman in the world—is once again in the spotlight, chasing a major that has eluded her for far too long.

The odds, ironically, seemed better when she was just a child. After her remarkable junior win in Scotland, one BBC report boldly claimed she had a 20-1 shot of lifting a major trophy by 2025. Now, with the final major of the year on the horizon and Hull making her 60th attempt at the sport’s holy grail, that prophecy remains unfulfilled—but not forgotten.

‘I want to be myself, not the next Tiger Woods’

Hull’s defiant streak was there from the start. In a now-iconic clip from her early days, a 10-year-old Hull was asked if she was the “female Tiger Woods.” Her response was pure Charley: “I want to be my own person, really. Everyone is saying you’re the new Tiger Woods and I think yeah, well, whatever. I want to be myself.”

That mantra hasn’t changed. Diagnosed with ADHD in 2023, Hull now says the diagnosis helped her better understand parts of her personality that were always there. “Sometimes I get bored on the golf course,” she admits. “But that’s just who I am.”

It’s that same personality that has seen her defy traditional norms in golf training, reject any interest in her past performances, and raise eyebrows for lighting up cigarettes mid-round. While her quirks have sometimes attracted criticism, they’ve also won her a loyal following of fans who appreciate her honesty and raw edge.

‘I don’t train for golf—I train for me’

It’s Been Quite The Week For Charley Hull

If you follow Charley Hull on social media, you’ll know her gym routine isn’t for show. She’s a fitness junkie, pushing herself with personal challenges like running 5K in under 20 minutes (her last clocked time was 23:30, down from 26 minutes in February), and sharing daily snapshots of her strength workouts. But she’s quick to set the record straight: “I don’t train for golf. I train to keep my body and mind fit.”

When asked what she means by that, Hull elaborates: “I’ve no interest in training for golf. Chipping and putting? I can do that all day. But all this boring movement stuff I’ve been doing since I was 14? It’s just not for me.”

She even recently quit smoking—cold turkey. “I was on about 40 a day, so I just thought, I don’t want to be smoking 40 cigarettes a day anymore, so I just quit. It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done,” she said, as if tossing out decades of addiction was no harder than changing grips on a club.

Bumps in the road ahead of Royal Porthcawl

The lead-up to the AIG Women’s Open hasn’t been ideal. Hull was forced to withdraw from the Evian Championship earlier this month after collapsing during the first round due to a virus. On her return at the Scottish Open, she finished tied for 21st, admitting she was only operating at “about 80%.”

“I’ve not been to the gym in two weeks,” she shared last week at Dundonald Links. “I need my immune system to catch up. It drives me bonkers not being able to go to the gym.”

Hull, currently ranked 19th in the world, will need to be back to her best if she wants to finally break through at a major. Her track record is one of near-misses: three runner-up finishes in majors, six additional top-10s, and eight missed cuts in her last 24 starts. As she bluntly puts it: “Second to me is first loser.”

‘I hope the wind is up’

This year’s AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl is being billed as the biggest women’s sporting event ever staged in Wales. Hull, who won at the course during the Junior Vagliano Trophy at age 14, has fond memories of the links-style venue—even if she usually prefers parkland courses.

“I won here when I was 14, so I have good memories,” she said. “Links is going to be a challenge and I hope the wind is up, because I like finding links hard.”

It’s a bold wish, but one that fits her combative style. Hull doesn’t want the game to be easy. She wants it gritty, tough, uncomfortable—because that’s when she thrives.

The mental game: ‘I’m already on to the next thing’

For Hull, golf isn’t an all-consuming obsession. That’s probably what makes her different from many of her peers—and perhaps what holds her back in those tight final rounds.

“I don’t really look at stuff like [major stats],” she says casually. “I have no interest. As I am in life, once I’m done, I’m off to the next thing.”

And maybe that’s the key. For a player with talent to spare, perhaps it’s less about grinding for hours on the range and more about finding the right rhythm—mentally, emotionally, spiritually.

So as Hull tees it up at Royal Porthcawl for her 60th major attempt, she does so not as the would-be Tiger Woods, not even as Britain’s great hope—but as herself. And that, for better or worse, might just be her greatest strength.