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Charley Hull was given the green light by his captain to take to the course on Friday in the opening session of the Solheim Cup and also lead Europe to history by knocking out world number one Nelly Korda in a tantalising opening encounter.
If it was a surprise that Suzann Pettersen left out Leona Maguire – the Irishwoman with a remarkable seven points from 10 games – in the foursomes, then seeing world number 12 Hull play first will come as no surprise.
Since catching the eye on her debut as a 17-year-old in Denver 11 years ago – when Europe won on American soil for the first time – Hull has become something of a heartthrob in the team and, with her global fame, is naturally expected to lead the visitors.
“It’s good to see Charley playing early,” Pettersen said with a smile. “She doesn’t like to sit around and wait. And she’s interacted well with the home fans this week.”
Purists may not approve, but the galleries clearly love Hull, Kettering’s only one. At the final training session on Thursday, she even walked up to an American supporter and asked for a light. Classic, Charley.
After videos of her smoking at the U.S. Women’s Open in June went viral, she was banned from smoking at last month’s Olympics. Pettersen had no intention of stopping Hull here at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, in a suburb 40 minutes from Capitol Hill.
Laughing when asked that she might have to buy her athlete her own lighter, Pettersen said optics were not an issue. “She’s having a lot of fun,” the Norwegian said. “And Charley is old enough to make those decisions.”
It would be a huge statement if Hull and German rookie Esther Henseleit could topple Korda and another major winner in Allisen Corpuz. Korda has established herself as the undisputed best in the game in 2024, having won the Chevron Championship in April, the major coming on an unprecedented run of six wins in seven rounds. There’s not much missing from Korda’s CV – apart from a Solheim Cup. Three matches and not one in the triumphant team.
Last year’s draw in Spain saw Europe retain its Solheim trophy for a record third consecutive time. This time, the opportunity came to make even bigger history.
There are four major transatlantic encounters and the once-mighty Americans are stirring. The Walker Cup is 102 years old, the Ryder Cup 97, the Curtis Cup 92, and in each of those competitions America’s longest streak without a goal is three. The Solheim is only 35 years old, but Pettersen’s women have the chance to finish fourth, where no other American opponent has done so before.
The problem is that the visitors have not had a good season individually, despite Pettersen’s optimism. That is what makes Hull so important in the game which kicks off in the alternative format at 7.05am.
The 28-year-old downplayed the attention she had to pay to her hip on the course Thursday – “I just had it reattached, it always pops” – and seemed anything but intimidated. “I love playing golf, no matter what,” she said. “I love the American crowd. It’s so much fun. I always love playing a Solheim Cup in America because the atmosphere is incredible. The crowd is so funny.”
This isn’t Hull trying to rally the “USA, USA” faction to her cause. This is simply the way she is — including smoking. “I’m just me,” she said. “If I like things, I like them for me. If other people don’t like them, well, that’s not their life. I live myself. I live my life the way I want to live it, not the way other people want me to live it.”
Sure, Hull and Henseliet can get their asses kicked and Europe can still prevail. On the Costa del Sol, Pettersen’s favourites were swept 4-0 in foursomes but came back to head into Sunday’s singles tied at 6-6. It felt as if the Americans were melting mentally in the heat. Only two of their 12 players have played in a dozen successful Solheims and Stacy Lewis, the American captain, is honest enough to admit there are psychological hurdles to overcome.
“That’s our biggest challenge this week, the majority of this group haven’t made the leap yet,” Lewis said. “We’ve been close in the last three games. [losing by a point in 2019 and 15-13 in 2021, before last year’s 14-14] and it would mean a lot to cross the finish line this week. But we still have a lot of work to do before we get there.
