AIG WOMEN'S OPEN

July 30, 2025

Charley Hull

Press Conference

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be joined today by Charley Hull. Charley, I've just watched you walk across the village out there and get stopped for so many autographs and selfies.

It's only Wednesday, and the atmosphere is already great. Is that how you're feeling? Tell us about what it's like out there.

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, it's really good. It's actually nice just to be back in the UK and having so many people out here that are supporting the golf is great.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Your star continues to rise off the golf course. Happy Gilmore 2 was out this week. Can you tell us what that was like?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, it was quite a long day. It was good fun to be fair. It was pretty cool. Yeah, it was pretty cool because I watched the first when I was a kid growing up and that. Never thought I'd be in a movie, but there you go.

Definitely safe to say I couldn't be an actress. Just filming that scene all day, I haven't got the patience.

Q. Charley, can you just speak to the golf course? I know Royal Porthcawl is a pretty new one for the LPGA and LET. What's it play like out there? How have you found the test so far?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, it's really good. I think it's a great golf course. I played here back in 2011 in the Junior Vagliano. Me and Georgia Hall played here for GB&I. Me and Georgia was paired here. Back then we was always inseparable. We played together in foursomes.

I remember in the practice round I always used to play with a number 3 marker and three orange dots, and in tournament my ball would be a 1. So we went out in foursomes. On the 3rd hole, I've hit it right, but the day before I've hit it right in the practice round.

Anyway, she gets down there and just sees three dots on the golf ball and she whacks on the green. I get up to the green, I think I've got a putt to win the hole. I look at ball, and I said, George, we've got number 3 here. I play with 1. She's like, it's got your marks. I said, yeah, that's my ball I lost yesterday in the practice round. Lost the hole immediately. It was quite funny.

Yeah, I've got such great memories from this golf course. It's just a great spot for everyone to come. The golf course is great. Obviously I played here back in January with Nigel Edwards as well, and he helped me out and it was great.

Q. Looking at the golf course, it seems there's a lot of sneaky pot bunkers off the -- in the fairways that you can hit into off the tee.

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah.

Q. Knowing you've hit it right on at least one hole, like what's your strategy for your tee shots this week?

CHARLEY HULL: Usually I'm a very good bunker player, but these are very penal, so you've just got to get them out. That's the defence of this golf course. I think, if the wind blows, it's going to be very tricky.

Q. Can you just tell us how your health is? How are you feeling, and are you back 100 percent?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, like on Sunday I pretty much felt back to normal. It took like two, three weeks -- well, three weeks actually. It's been quite frustrating because I've not been able to get out into the gym yesterday.

I did a run yesterday actually, but the week before I was sick I hurt my back lifting a box out of my car, and then my back's been really playing up and I've not been hitting it as well because I've not been able to go to the gym and do my rehab exercises.

I'm not hitting it the best coming into this week which is very frustrating because it's an event I've been looking forward to playing all year. I've just got to go out there with what I've got.

At the end it's just a game of golf and you've got to go out there and have fun. I'm not going to let it beat me up too much. Yeah, apart from that, I feel pretty good.

Q. Going back to strategy on the course, are you using the driver?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I've got a driver in the bag, and obviously I'm going to use it. I feel like I've lost a bit of distance where I've been poorly lately and not really been to the gym, so my swing speed is down probably about eight miles an hour. Notice that in TrackMan.

Just got to get my swing feels in and just try to be confident with my new rescue wood in the bag, which is more of a D loft. I've got two rescue woods in the bag and took the 3-wood out. We're actually going to have a little talk about this in a bit, whether I want the 3-wood or the longer rescue.

Yeah, just got to keep the ball in play and got to be patient. You never know what the wind will do out here. I don't really know what the winning score will be. I haven't got a feel yet, what the winning score will be. Does anyone have an idea what it will be? I reckon if you have 10-under, you're not going to be far away.

Q. I spotted you last night going for a jog. Are you enjoying the spots where you can go for a jog this week?

CHARLEY HULL: That was the first run -- I went for one run last week and I didn't feel too good after it, so I learnt my lesson. Last week I fancied going through it because my back is pretty sore and my physio said I need to be walking and moving around. He didn't mean go for a run, but I had to go for a run.

Yeah, it was nice. The scenery is beautiful around here, to be fair. It was quite a nice spot.

Q. That's an indication you're feeling better?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, 100 percent, which is good. Thinking back now I used to do quite a lot of exercising. I've lost -- I've actually lost -- I think in three weeks I've lost four kgs, which is quite a lot of weight.

Q. Another question. You really would prefer that everybody hitting blades and everybody playing with old style clubs, and I think you'd be -- maybe would have won a major by this point if that had happened. Have you ever actually tried with old hickory sticks?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I have before. Back in the day when I was like 9 years old, me and my coach Kevin Theobald, like back then when I was younger, we actually made like one of the clubs, like when you grind it, varnish it, sand it, everything, we done it and went out with played with it, and that was pretty cool.

I would love a fun event to do that.

Q. Could you imagine yourself in the 1860s playing golf with little feathery balls and things like that?

CHARLEY HULL: I'd love that. I think it would be so much fun. I think the to be fair, I think golf back 20, 30 years ago, say 19 -- up to like 2000s, it was more of an art. The players, even then men, would have to hit draws and fades and stuff it in, where I think now it's become more of a power game and where it's become -- the technology has advanced so much everyone can just hit it straight and far, and it's kind of taking the art away from it.

Whenever I watch golf, I watch golf and all that lot, like who won the British Open in the 1970s and that. I find it way more interesting back then. Like I wouldn't really watch golf now really.

Q. Were you aware of how bad the weather was last time there was a big tournament in here?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah.

Q. Did you watch that at all?

CHARLEY HULL: Was it the seniors? When was that?

Q. The seniors, yeah, about three years ago.

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I remember one of the caddies saying that he caddied -- LPGA caddie saying they played for one of the guys and they got absolutely drenched. Yeah, hopefully we've brought the sunshine with us this week.

Q. With everything you mentioned about the leadup not being ideal, could that almost be a positive? You obviously -- this is a very important event for you, and maybe you can build it up too much if you're in good form and you're coming in like that. Does having a less than ideal (audio cut out) maybe be of benefit for this?

CHARLEY HULL: I feel like the last two years I've been on autopilot, where even when I'm hitting it bad, I've got enough confidence to go out and rip it.

Even leading up to this event, I had 12th at the U.S. Open and 12th at the Women's PGA of America, and then a third. Last week I was coming back and I finished 21st, and then I had to pull out at Evian.

It annoys me because it's such an important part this time of the season, and it's something I look forward to all year. And it's just like, damn it. At the end of the day, just get me making a few birdies to start with and I think I'll get my confidence back straightaway.

But I understand what you mean, beware of the injured golfer and stuff, but I'm feeling good now. Hopefully all the practice I've done the last two days is going to make a difference.

Q. Your game suits major championships so well. How much and how hungry are you get that maiden major title?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, 100 percent, absolutely, I'd love to win a major title. To be honest, I don't think the British Open on links suits me the most. That's why I always find that I play well at the U.S. Open, but I think I've got to get that out of my head. When we play in Walton Heath or Woburn, I always find those kind of courses suit my game a lot more. It's more visually off the tee. I find links quite intimidating.

We played Sahalee, which is one of the tightest golf courses in the world at KPMG, and everyone was saying how tight it is, but I looked at it and thought it was the worst golf course in the world because of the tree lines, you know what I mean? I think it's a visual thing with me.

Q. The AIG Women's Open has become such a brilliant event, and the facilities that are offered to you as a player get better year-on-year. This year I've heard you guys have got saunas, all sorts, gym in there. I wonder if you could tell us a bit about the facilities that you have and what you appreciate most as a player.

CHARLEY HULL: I think they step it up every year. I think it's great what they do for us. I'm even going to go to the food. The food in there is so healthy food. At the end of the day, we're sports people, so we're like athletes. The food that they're giving us is the right fuel to fuel our body rather than just eating burgers and chips and stuff, which everyone loves a burger and chips, but it's very important.

To have the gym here at the golf course, because sometimes, especially in the UK, it's very rare to get a half decent hotel with a gym. So they look after us in that aspect and everything onsite. I think it's -- as like in that area, that is the best major for that by far. They walk it by a long shot.

Q. I'm pretty sure what you've been saying about you're back, all the headlines coming in here have been about Lottie Woad. Is there a part of you that thinks, well, that's great, but actually I'd like to remind everybody over the next few days exactly what I'm capable of doing?

CHARLEY HULL: I think what Lottie Woad has done is absolutely unbelievable. I played with her in the practice rounds in Ireland, and I played with her in the first two rounds last week, and at the minute I feel like she's playing with such confidence she can't miss a shot. I think it's great to see. She's a breath of fresh air for the game.

At the end of the day, I want to win the tournament and everything, but I don't care when people say, oh, I'm still here. I am still here. I'm out there enjoying it. No, I'm actually really proud of Lottie for what she's done. That's like goose bumps kind of stuff.

Q. I guess it's human nature that you'd like to see your name up in the headlines again.

CHARLEY HULL: I want to see my name on the trophy. I don't care about being up in the headlines. I don't really read the headlines. I literally go out there and play golf and play good and hopefully get my name on the trophy.

Q. I'm wondering if you managed to catch any of the highlights of the England women's team winning the Euros, and what you made of that victory? And if you feel like you're part of something bigger in women's sports happening right now, particularly in the UK and in England, and what role you think you have in that? Because you're such an exciting character and we all love watching you, you've got your own unique stamp on the game. Do you sometimes wish you could share the load with other charismatic players? Do you think women's golf needs more players who have their own thing going on, or do you feel sometimes you have to carry that quite a lot yourself?

CHARLEY HULL: I don't know, I don't feel like I've got to carry anything. I need to just be me at the end of the day. I think it's unbelievable what the England women's team have done, I think that's great. Just for sport in general, you can wake up in the morning and go play a game you love and earn money for it, gosh, that's an unbelievable life. Don't you think so? You're healthy. You're fit.

I would encourage any kids in school or anything to just get into sport. Even if you're not going to become unbelievable at it, I just think it's something that's great. Sporting events like that and like this, I just think that pushes women and girls and kids or anyone really in general. So I think it's pretty cool.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Charley, thank you very much for your time today. Best of luck this week.