AIG WOMEN'S OPEN MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 12, 2025

Charley Hull

Media Day Press Conference

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Charley and ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for joining us here at Royal Porthcawl. Really appreciate everybody's time to spread the great word with the AIG Women's Open.

Charley, I know that you've played here just recently, so I guess we'll start by maybe just you giving us your early impressions and what you're looking forward to heading into the championship.

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I played it back in January. It was really nice. We probably got the nicest day in January. It was quite warm, it was like 7 degrees and the sun was out, and the golf course was in great condition. I was very pleased and impressed by it.

It wasn't actually the first time I played it. I played it in the Junior Vagliano back in 2011. I think I was like 14 or 15. I think I might have been about 14. But yeah, it was pretty cool golf course. It's nice.

Q. Do you like links courses, Charley --

CHARLEY HULL: No, I don't like links golf courses. Not in golf competitions. I like playing them with my friends when you can laugh at everyone hitting bad shots because I'm usually the one hitting the bad shots. But in a tournament I do like more of a parkland golf course. But I've just got to see it as a challenge.

Q. I remember playing with you at Turnberry and you actually played brilliantly.

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I did. I just find there's a lot of luck on links golf courses. Like I don't think -- it's not always the best player wins around links; you can have a lot of luck. You don't have to be the best ball striker; like you can scab it around and still get it round, where when you're playing in America on a parkland golf course you have to be a good ball striker. But I suppose it's all part of the challenges and stuff, and it's just look at it as a challenge, I suppose.

Q. Have you reached out to Georgia about that because she's kind of the other way around, isn't she.

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, she likes slow greens, and she like little chip-and-runs. That's why it goes in more of her favour, yeah.

Q. Kind of depends what side of the draw you're on.

CHARLEY HULL: 100 per cent, yeah. It's crazy. Yeah, it's crazy. The Scottish Open a few years ago, there was something crazy between the morning draw and the afternoon draw, and I had the worse draw in the morning and then it was like a different day in the afternoon. It was ridiculously crazy. I think only like five people from the morning draw made the cut or something.

Q. Quality ball-striking, like that would be a real strength of yours. Do you come across a course and think I've got --

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, like that happened (indiscernible) Women's PGA, and that was unbelievable. I enjoyed the U.S. Open last year. The greens were ridiculously slopey and crazy, but that was good fun. I kind of find the longer and the tighter the golf course, I prefer.

Q. I remember when you played at Pebble Beach a couple years ago --

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, two years ago that was a really good golf course. I really enjoyed that, as well.

Q. Watching you in that final round, it was amazing to see you really loved just trying to fashion shots.

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, 100 per cent. That's what I love, golf courses where you can have to draw some, fade some, hit some high, hit some low, and just be direct with the shots. That was great fun.

Q. Have you sort of grown more adept at links, though?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I think so. I was actually all right at links golf when I was younger-younger. But as I kind of got better, I just kind of got my game really good for America.

But listen, I do enjoy links golf. I do find it really fun. But I just find it quite hard because I like tree-lined, so the tighter it is on my eye, the more I feel comfortable playing it. When it's like a field, like you can't really picture out lines and stuff, that's what I find tricky.

Q. I want to ask you about your major record, as well. You must be thinking it's going to happen. Is it four seconds now? I was thinking back to Augusta when Rory won, and it's almost like perseverance pays off. Have you ever told yourself the same thing?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, 100 per cent. I've always been knocking on the door. Just gotta get it done and dusted, but the only one that can do it is myself, so I've just got to pull my head out of my ass and do it.

Q. Is what Rory did any sort of inspiration?

CHARLEY HULL: To be fair, I didn't watch any of the Masters apart from the front nine on the last day, and I turned it off after that because I went to sleep. But yeah, it was pretty inspiring, though, I'm not going to lie, especially after how he started. I thought, oh, he's done, he's not winning this, and then I woke up in the morning and he won. But fair play to him.

Q. (Indiscernible) it was going to happen.

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, it happened at the ANA -- well, Kraft Nabisco. And then yeah, it was crazy; Lydia Ko got up-and-down the last hole to knock us out of the playoff.

Q. Do you set that as a goal?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, definitely I'd rather win a major than be world No. 1 because I don't think sometimes golf rankings can be super fair. Like it all depends on how many tournaments you play in and stuff. But I think the majors, you're playing against everyone that week, and when you win it's pretty cool.

Q. Golf tournaments (indiscernible) but you played better but finished second?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, exactly. And then you can scab it around and you can win and you're like, how did I do that. Exactly.

Q. Is there any way you can say to yourself, if you've had a second or third or played really well, it's kind of weird to actually pat yourself on the back, isn't it, because you haven't come away with the trophy.

CHARLEY HULL: I know, exactly. But then you've just got to take positives, try and take positives away from it because obviously in women's golf there's five majors. But in sport there are like four majors and you've just got four times a year to win one; do you know what I mean.

Q. Do you build your schedule around the majors?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I do, but I build my schedule mostly around being at home because I don't like being away from home. I'm such a home person. If I didn't play golf -- if I was to not play golf, I would just love to be in England and just live in England - I love it - or the UK. I feel like because I've been travelling since I was like 12 years old, it takes a toll on you. I just do two weeks on, two weeks off here and there.

Q. Will you aim to try and get here again before --

CHARLEY HULL: I might try and play it in the summer sometime, just come down with my friends and play 18 holes. But yeah, just then prepare on the week.

I actually don't really like to know a golf course too well because then you start thinking. So I just like to know it enough but not overthink it. I don't even use the yardage book when I play. Just Adam, my caddie, goes, to the front, 120; to the pin, 140. Okay, cool.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

CHARLEY HULL: It was similar this morning in Surrey until we drove over the bridge.

Q. Where were you last week?

CHARLEY HULL: I was home.

Q. How much time do you spend at home?

CHARLEY HULL: I spend quite a lot. I probably only play like 21 events a year. Some girls play 36. That's no life. I've got a life outside of golf.

Q. Do you play more in a Solheim Cup year?

CHARLEY HULL: No, it's probably similar every year kind of thing.

Q. You love saying that you've got a life; do you think that's part of the reason why you're very popular? Your popularity seems to have really risen recently.

CHARLEY HULL: It's mad. I'm just being myself. If you like me, you like me. If you don't, lump it. Do you know what I mean? I'm just me. Generally I'm just me. I'm not changing it for the world.

I think too many people in life, especially in the sport industry, thinks they've got to maintain some type of image or this and that and they're too scared of, people don't like me, got to act this way. Just be yourself. People's opinions don't pay bills, and you've got to be yourself, otherwise you'll be miserable pretending to be something else.

Q. Do you feel like you have been that sort of person in the past?

CHARLEY HULL: I don't know really. When I was younger I was quite -- I've always been like that. When I was six, I was running around and never listened, did my own thing my own way and always learnt the hard way, and I've always been like that, to be fair.

Q. The Open in Wales will have a massive impact on women and girls' golf in Wales. I was wondering if there was anything coming through as a career that you can think an event or something happening that had a big impact --

CHARLEY HULL: I've loved actually going and watching the men's British Open when I was younger. Growing up, I didn't actually watch any women's golf. I didn't know what the Solheim Cup was until I played in the Junior Solheim Cup, two years before the actual Solheim Cup. My dad said you're picked for Solheim Cup; I'm like, what's the Solheim Cup, Dad, and he was explaining it's like the men's Ryder Cup but for women, and I was like, okay.

The only other time I've come to a women's golf event was when I was nine years old. It was the Weetabix Women's British Open back in the day, and that was kind of the first time that I met the players and stuff. Apart from that, I didn't know too much about women's golf. It was all men's golf. But now I think it's good because it's getting more shown on TV, and now younger girls are looking up to women golfers rather than just the men golfers.

I think just the way that golf is growing in general is really, really good. I think like juniors down at the golf club and stuff, I used to love being a junior, going down to the golf club and getting a junior Diet Coke and a junior chicken burger. Could actually get them for like 60p or whatever it was. I know it's going to sound random, but little stuff like that, like junior days out and stuff just helps encourage it all because you're there having a gossip, playing golf with your mates and just having a laugh.

Q. Who did you look up to when you were --

CHARLEY HULL: Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros.

Q. Any of the women?

CHARLEY HULL: I didn't really know any women. I probably knew Laura Davies and Dottie Pepper because we used to watch the men's golf and Dottie used to comment. So basically that's where I knew her from. It was mad.

Not until I played with Morgan Pressel in the pro-am of the British Open; that's then when I knew then who she was and then knew who Annika was since I spoke to her there, and that's when I had Morgan standing. But it's crazy, yeah.

Q. Seve was interesting to you?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, because my dad always used to get me watching the Seve short game DVDs as a kid. I wish golf was like that because I think it was way more interesting back then rather than these days it's all about how far you hit the golf ball. Back then it was all about how to shape the shot and create all the shots and everything and play blades and all that. I think golf was 10 times more interesting.

Q. Do you think you'd have won more if everybody had to play blades?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I reckon so, 100 per cent.

Q. When people ask why you haven't won majors, maybe the reason is driver technology --

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I'm quite a good driver of the golf ball, and my favourite driver was when I was a young girl, I always used to play the small head ones. Even these days, I hate it when they bring too big a headed driver out. I just like old school. I think if this was like the '90s or the '80s, I would have been really good.

Q. Do you get noticed outside the golf course?

CHARLEY HULL: Actually I do sometimes. We've had one where -- just like London or randomly. Like yesterday, or Saturday night, I was just in my other house in Kettering and I was getting some stuff out in the car, and I heard a group of lads come by the house, oh, I think that might be Charley Hull's house there; I'd love to meet Charley Hull.

They were just saying my name, and I didn't even take no notice because I was behind a wall and didn't see me, and then as I was getting my clubs out of the car, and they're like, excuse me, are you Charley Hull, and I went, yeah. They was like, no, you're not. I was like, okay, no, I'm not then. But you are, and then it was like, oh, my God, can I have a picture with you, and they're like, I can't believe I met you. And I'm just thinking, why can't you believe you met me? All I do is whack a ball around a field. Do you know what I mean? It was quite funny.

Q. Do you sometimes think that if you and Georgia were (indiscernible) where you actually could have a life outside --

CHARLEY HULL: Exactly, 100 per cent. 1 million per cent. I agree with that. I was just thinking the other day, I've just got like my Instagram now is for golf, and I don't have the password; like I have no interest in it. Like I've got a private Instagram with my friends that has like 50 people in it, and that's the way I want to keep it, where my other Instagram I would just post golf stuff or just some random stuff because I just want to, like, be private but not be private with my friends and stuff but just live normal rather than people just saying stuff. Do you get what I mean? I agree with that. I don't know how Pit Bull and them do it. Yeah, it's crazy.

Q. Did you set out to do that at a very early age, that your life was going to be like that, that you were going to keep it private?

CHARLEY HULL: Not really, no, because I never understood -- I never from an early age didn't think why people would be interested in what I do. I never could understand that.

But obviously they are because I play golf and stuff, and they probably want to know my personal life, but I never understood why people would want to because I think to myself, all I do is whack a ball around a field. Why would people be --

Q. You do it quite well, though.

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah.

Q. How is the running and the 10,000 bet?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, easy, not smoked, and it's been nearly two months now. Well, I said for two months because if I was to break a habit for two months and I'm not going to go back to it, but you can't promise anything for life. You can't promise anything for life.

Q. And you haven't gone back?

CHARLEY HULL: No, definitely not, no. It was the easiest thing I ever done. And then my running is going good, but just changing my training a little bit. Just calming it down a little bit. But yeah.

Q. Are you sleeping a bit better?

CHARLEY HULL: I do sometimes struggle sleeping, but I can sleep for like 13, 14 hours, as well, at times, which is a bit weird. But I've always been into my fitness since I was about 13, 14 years old. I've always been in the gym. So yeah, it's just I enjoy it. It's just something better to do than sitting in a pub all day drinking.

Q. Just bringing it back to the AIG Women's Open, we're quite proud that it's going to be the largest ever women's sporting event to be played in Wales. What does that mean to you from a player's perspective, to be sort of making history and for it to be golf?

CHARLEY HULL: I think it's really, really cool. I think it's brilliant. I think it shows you how far golf has come, like women's golf has come to now come into where it's going to be the biggest women's sporting event in Wales. That's a pretty big thing, I think, and I think it's great. Hopefully it's going to get loads of younger kids into the game of golf. Especially was it 2010 when they played the Ryder Cup here, and now this, I think it's pretty good how they just keep evolving.

Q. You said when you were a junior you looked up to the men as your inspiration. When you see these young girls coming out to the golf tournaments and things, do you have that in the back of your mind that you think it's on -- not on you, but you have a real to play in inspiring?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, 100 per cent. Obviously when I was younger, I was brought up with all the boys, and would I change that for the world? No, I wouldn't, because I get on with guys better than I do girls, and I think it made me the player that I am. Hit the ball hard, keep up with the lads.

But I think it's good now how golf is getting bigger, it is inspiring younger kids and girls to play golf, and it's just nice to see that it's not just all lads on the golf club; there is a junior section of girls.

Q. There's a lot going into women and girls' facilities. How important is that for just getting girls into golf?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, definitely, you obviously need somewhere to get changed before and after, washed if you're in real sweaty sport and stuff like that. Yeah, definitely, I think all them little things make it more appealing for even their parents to take them to these places. Definitely.

Q. As you said, you have got a life outside of golf. Have you ever set yourself a limit on how long you're going to be in the game because so many women golfers do and think I don't want to be doing this when I'm 35, when I'm 40?

CHARLEY HULL: I think I just want to play until I have kids and then once I have kids, I won't want to come back because I wouldn't think it's fair on a child. I'd want to give them a normal upbringing. But yeah. But I wouldn't quit golf. I'd quit golf playing on Tour. I'd play it all the time with my friends at home and take loads of money off them.

Q. Do you do that?

CHARLEY HULL: Sometimes, but not really.

Q. Have you noticed a real difference in the facilities at the Women's Open?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, definitely, every year, like the gym, the physio rooms, the food places, how they have done for us in the evening, not just for lunch and everything. It's gotten so much better, it's unbelievable. It's really good.

Q. Is this more like what it's like in America?

CHARLEY HULL: I think it's better. Yeah, I generally think the facilities is better, 100 per cent.

Q. Were you brave and tried the cold plunge last year?

CHARLEY HULL: I've got one in the house. I wasn't going to do it last year. It was too cold to do it at the British Open at St Andrews. I was cold coming off the golf course by the end of it. I was going in the hot pool at the hotel.

Q. They're trying to make golf quicker at the moment. Do you think it's working?

CHARLEY HULL: I don't know. I think the way they're doing it is a bit weird. Yeah, I don't know. I just think golf should be a lot quicker. If it was up to me I'd change it completely.

Q. What would you do?

CHARLEY HULL: I'd cut the field every week down to 100 players and then make the cut 50 and play in two-balls every week. That's the way I'd do it.

Q. But I think I read you've been quoted as saying you'd dock them shots and --

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I generally believe if you're being that slow, every -- like you're allowed a certain amount of penalties, like shots. If you get over a certain point, you lose your Tour card for the year and go back to Q-school I generally think. Because if you don't put a harsh penalty in place, you're not going to get anyone doing it then.

Q. I don't know if you watched the Augusta National Women's Amateur. That was unbelievable. I thought I was watching a highlights reel, but it wasn't, it was just --

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, so quick, isn't it, yeah.

Q. I thought, this is actually far more entertaining to watch. I can't imagine why the LET can't do it. If they played fast, it would be something to show the world.

CHARLEY HULL: I know. But in Japan they play really fast. They give you coloured flags. In Japan they are very fast, yeah.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Well, on that note, Charley, thank you very much, and we look forward to seeing you back here in July.

CHARLEY HULL: Thanks.