Charley Hull was supposed to be taking it easy this week, but she’s generally not one for sitting around.
After suffering a ligament tear at the PIF London Championship in early August, doctors told her she might be out for as many as nine weeks. Hull had fallen over a curb in the parking lot at the Centurion Club days after finishing T-2 at the AIG Women’s British Open.
But Hull couldn’t stay away too long. She returned to competition last week at the Aramco Houston Championship where she tied for second. This week she’s at the LPGA’s Kroger Queen City Championship at TPC River’s Bend, where 21 out of the 24 winners on tour this season are in the field of 144, including top-ranked Jeeno Thitikul and Lydia Ko.
“They said it would probably be about nine weeks recovery time, but I cut it down to three,” said Hull during a pre-tournament press conference in Ohio. “I am a little bit sore this week after playing last week.”
Hull, who wore a moon boot during her recovery, was asked on Wednesday if she’s still in any pain when she hits a golf shot.
“Yeah, today it hurt,” she said. “It’s just a lot of golf last week and then straight into this week. But pain is only a bloody weakness of the mind, so I’ll be all right.”
Hull’s summer season has been riddled with health issues. From the virus that took her down at the Amundi Evian, to the back injury she suffered when taking a box out of her car the week of the British Open to the ankle boot.
The No. 8 player in the world has had a hard time keeping the momentum going. Her upcoming tournament plans, particularly regarding the tour’s Hawaii stop, are still up in the air. Hull, who is based out of England, said she’s not sure if another long haul back before the Asia swing is worth it.
“I’ve got something wrong with my back as well at the minute where I tore my muscle about two months ago, and I’ve got some cysts growing on my spine,” said Hull. “I feel like a 12-hour flight to LA and then a five-hour flight there could do me more harm than good, get there and not play. We’ll try to assess it over the next few weeks.
This year’s Asian swing also includes the International Crown, where Hull will compete on the newly formed World Team alongside Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson and Wei-Ling Hsu next month in South Korea.
When asked if she’d talked to any of her teammates yet, Hull responded in her typical honest fashion: “No, haven’t even looked who is on the team, to be fair. I’ll just rock up that week and play some golf.”
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