Charley Hull recently expressed her preference for "harder golf courses" on the LPGA Tour, similar to ones laid out for major championships. She's currently competing at the 2025 Ford Championship at Whirlwind Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona.
The 29-year-old made her lowest round on the LPGA Tour of 9-under 63 in the first round. She remained bogey-free and scored nine birdies, five in the front nine and four in the back nine.
In the post-round press interview, Hull was asked if she likes the tournaments where it's a "birdiefest." Hull denied this and said that she favoured tougher courses like majors.
"No, I don't, no. I like the majors when they're long, hard, and tight. That's usually my favorite kind of golf. I wish we played more -- I wish they made it more like that on the LPGA. That's why I always like the harder golf courses, which are usually the majors anyway," she added (via ASAP Sports)
Major championships in golf are considered to be the toughest and finest test for a golfer to prove their skills. Hull has yet to secure a victory in the majors.
Charley Hull, who turned professional in 2013, has competed in 55 major championships in her golf career. She had made 40 cuts in 55 starts and has nine top-10 and 30 top-25 finishes.
She has had three runner-ups at major championships. Her last runner-up came at the 2023 AIG Women's Open. She also tied for second at the 2023 U.S. Women's Open and 2016 Chevron Championship.
Charley Hull talks about the equipment change that helped her after the first round at the Ford Championship
Charley Hull upgraded her driver this week at the Ford Championship to the Taylormade Qi35 LS model. She had used the TaylorMade Qi10 LS earlier.
In the press conference, the English player was asked what aspects of her game stood out during her round. She said (via ASAP Sports):
"Well, I kind of tweaked my driver at the beginning of the week. I had Adrian from TaylorMade here and we was working on that, the new driver, and I really, really, really hit it well today. I felt like that put me in a lot of good positions."
"I putted pretty well. I chipped pretty well. I hit it pretty well with my iron shots. I don't think I missed a green and didn't really miss any fairways. I was hitting it good and just felt confident. Yeah, just felt good out there," she added.
Charley Hull also talked about her preparations in the lead-up to the tournament. She said that she had been "grinding" at home over the past three weeks and putting in significant time with her coach, Matt Belsham, and her putting coach. She also said that they had all been working hard, particularly on her fitness and "training kit".