Mel Reid believes that slow starts are the only reason that Charley Hull is yet to win a major championship during her career following the US Women’s Open this past week.
Hull will probably be quite pleased that it was Nelly Korda who finished ahead of her at Riviera at the second major of the year.
The world number one dominated the headlines after sealing her fourth major title.
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Why Charley Hull is yet to win a major during her career
Unfortunately, it is yet another case of so near, yet so far for Charley Hull. The Brit has now finished as a runner-up in five majors during her career.
Hull had set the clubhouse target on Sunday as she finished her week on seven under par. However, a birdie on Korda’s 71st hole saw her move back in front. And she – just about – went on to make the par on the last to secure the victory.
Hull has actually finished second in two of the last three majors. So there is no question that the 30-year-old has the ability to win one of the game’s biggest prizes.
And speaking on 5 Clubs, Mel Reid explained why she believes Hull is yet to become a major champion.
“Charley’s Charley, right? She is who she is. I mean, honestly, I won’t tell stories on here, because it’s probably not appropriate, but she’s the best. She just is who she is,” she said.
“And I genuinely think that she kind of doesn’t play very well in the first two days of a major. This is the only reason she’s not won a major. She’s somewhere like two shots worse each round than she is in the final two rounds of any major, and I think it’s just because she just needs to get to the weekend.
“She plays a little bit defensive. But I’ll tell you something, when she was climbing up that leaderboard on Sunday, the one player, and I know this, the one player that Nelly would have been scared of climbing up that leaderboard and breathing down her neck would have been Charley Hull because Charley Hull doesn’t care that it’s Nelly Korda.
“She just doesn’t care who’s leading, whether it’s the world number one, whether it’s the season that she’s having, Charley’s just looking up. And that’s all she’s thinking about, ‘right, how do I get to this lead? How do I get to this number? How do I win this tournament?’ Listen, she’s a dangerous one to be breathing down your neck.
“So if she just sorts out these first two rounds in a major championship, it’s not a time of if, it’s when. Whenever Charley Hull is getting on a bit of a run like that, it’s so fun. And she’s one of them players as well where you almost feel the energy through the TV and you’re almost on the edge of your seat. She brings you there with you and that’s what makes her so incredible. She’s one of the best. So it was a lot of fun to see her make a run there on Sunday.”
What Charley Hull has now done for the first time since 2018
To back up Reid’s point, Hull was four shots better than Korda over the final two rounds at the US Women’s Open.
She has now finished inside the top 10 in her last three majors. It is the first time that Hull has managed that since the 2018 season – though she missed out on the top five in each of those majors eight years ago.
Hull explained afterwards that the majors motivate her like no other event. Certainly, she should have more than three victories on the LPGA across her career.
It would be a real shame if she did not win a major at some stage. It was fantastic to have Korda and Hull involved in the battle on a Sunday of a major.
Hopefully it will not be the last time.
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