KirkwoodGolf: CHARLEY HULL SAYS SHE CAN COPE WITH CURTIS CUP PRESSURE

Friday, May 25, 2012

CHARLEY HULL SAYS SHE CAN COPE WITH CURTIS CUP PRESSURE

FROM THE BBCSPORT.COM WEBSITE
Teenage prospect Charley Hull has said she has the experience to manage the expectations of representing Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup match against the United States at The Nairn Golf Club from June 8 to 10.
The 16-year-old Woburn Club member from Kettering, ranked No 6 among the world's female amateur golfers, was initially told she would not be chosen for the GB and I squad of eight after opting  to play in the first LPGA Tour major of the season rather than a team trial at Nairn.
But the Ladies Golf Union selectors decided they could not overlook such a talented layer and Hull was informed of this change of mind during the Kraft Nabisco tournament.
"I feel good because I've played in a major and I've played in front of crowds," she told BBC Look East.
"It's good fun. I enjoy it loads. Playing in front of crowds is part of what you've got to deal with when you keep playing golf."
Hull was one of only five amateurs invited to the Kraft Nabisco Championship in California, where she finished 38th with a score of one over par.
That followed victory in the Harder Hall Invitational on Florida's Orange Blossom Tour.
The England and Wales strokeplay champion, currently sixth in the world, made her Ladies European Tour debut in Turkey earlier this month,  where she finished one under.
The Curtis Cup, which pitches amateurs from the USA against a British and Irish team, is a match-play competition, a style which the Burton Latimer youngster is not fond of.
"I'm alright at matchplay. I'm not a big fan of it," said Hull, who shares membership with Ian Poulter at the Woburn Golf Club.
"Anyone can win match-play. The greatest player doesn't always win match-play.
"It can be unfair. Someone can have an eight on a hole and you can have a birdie and you've only gone one up."
But she says she will be applying her youthful enthusiasm to the tournament, regardless of the format.
"I want to obviously win all my matches," she said.
"I want to have a great time. It's all a learning curve. You can even learn more from the bad games than the good games.
"I don't set myself goals really. I just go out and play. Just have fun, that's what I say."
Hull's father David, who accompanies her during competitions, is keen for her to remain grounded, but admits she has a glittering career ahead of her.
"She can go as far as she wants," he said. "She's good enough to be on tour probably now. But she's still got a lot to learn.
"She learned a lot on her appearance in the Ladies European Tour event and that was good for her against some of the best players in the world."

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Charley Hull achievements

2011
  • Played on the Orange Blossom Tour in Florida in 2011, aged 14
  • Finished runner-up in the South Atlantic Women's Amateur Championship and won the Jones-Doherty matchplay championship in Florida 
  • Won both the Wales and England strokeplay championship and was runner-up in English Ladies Amateur Championship
  • Played for Great Britain and Ireland Under-16s v Continent of Europe in inaugural Junior Vagliano Trophy match at Royal Porthcawl.
2012
  • Won the Harder Hall Invitational on Florida's amateur Orange Blossom Tour. 
  • Played first major and made the cut in Kraft Nabisco Championship and made first Ladies European Tour appearance in Turkey
  • Selected for the Curtis Cup
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*Image of Charley Hull by courtesy of the Northamptonshire Golf digital magazine.

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