England’s Charley Hull put on a masterclass on Sunday at the U.S. Women’s Open, firing a six-under 66 that saw her make two bogeys, six birdies and an eagle on the 2nd to ultimately finish in a tie for second alongside Jiyai Shin.
Hull began the day seven shots back and slowly climbed the leaderboard all afternoon, rolling in a 30-foot putt for birdie on 16 to pull within two of Allisen Corpuz‘s 8-under lead with two holes to play. But two pars on 17 and 18 just weren’t enough to put the pressure on Corpuz, and though her 66 tied the week’s low round, Hull left herself just a few shots shy of capturing her first major title.
Still, the T2 ties her career-best finish in a major championship – Hull last finished runner-up in a major at the 2016 Chevron Championship – a good enough result for her to be pleased overall with her valiant, final-round effort.
“I played really well. Started off fast really from the first hole, hit it to four feet. But I missed the birdie putt and then eagled the second. Birdied the next few,” said Hull, who missed the cut in the first two majors of this season. “Felt really confident going into today’s round and very happy with it. I thought I had my putt on the last, but I don’t know, it was a good try. Just died on me.”
Hull led the field in strokes gained putting this week (+2.26) after entering the week ranked 54th in the same statistic, ironic since she spent the week off in between the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open grinding on her golf swing.
But good ball-striking generally creates more opportunities with the flatstick, and sitting seven back when she teed off on Sunday, the always-aggressive Hull was going to try to make as many birdies as she could to chase down the leaders, a successful strategy considering she made six total and an eagle.
“[The mindset today was] just make as many birdies as I can because at the end of the day, I’m chasing it down, so it’s quite fun. I quite enjoy chasing someone because you got to make birdies and you got to make a move up that leaderboard,” Hull said. “I’m quite an aggressive person when it comes to life. But I’m quite like fast and I just feel like I’m quite aggressive on the golf course. I like to go for pins. At the end of the day it’s just a game, and might as well make it fun.”
Not one to reflect on the past, Hull is already raring to go at the Amundi Evian Championship later this month. But when she stops and thinks how special this U.S. Women’s Open has been playing at Pebble Beach, Hull gave the week rave reviews like most in the field.
“I’ve been working hard on my swing last week when I was at home, so I feel really confident and just carrying on working on that and can’t wait for the Amundi Evian Championship now,” said Hull. “(Today) was really good. Showed me that you work hard and you get rewards.
“I love the golf course. It’s unbelievable. Obviously, kind of watched it growing up as a kid, and it’s a great course to be playing out here. It’s pretty special.”
