Charley Hull has been given the green light by her captain to smoke on course here in Friday’s first session of the Solheim Cup and also the task of sparking Europe towards history by bringing down world No 1 Nelly Korda in a mouthwatering opening encounter.
If it is a shock that Suzann Pettersen has sat out Leona Maguire – the Irishwoman with a remarkable record of seven points from 10 games – in the foursomes, then seeing Hull, the world No 12, playing the first shot will surprise nobody.
Since commanding the spotlight on her debut as a 17-year-old in Denver 11 years ago – when Europe won for the first time on US soil – Hull has emerged as something of a heartbeat on the side and, with her global celebrity, is a natural to lead out the visitors.
“It’s nice to get Charley out there and going early,” Pettersen said with a grin. “She doesn’t like to sit around and wait. And she has interacted well with the home fans here this week.”
The purists might not approve but the galleries clearly adore Hull, the one-off from Kettering. In the final practice session on Thursday she actually walked over to a US supporter and asked him for a light. Classic, Charley.
After videos went viral of her puffing away at the US Women’s Open in June, she was banned from indulging in her habit at last month’s Olympics. Pettersen was not about to stop Hull here at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, in a suburb 40 minutes from Capitol Hill.
Laughing when it was put to her that she should perhaps buy her strike performer her own lighter, Pettersen said the optics were not a problem. “She’s having a ball,” the Norwegian said. “And Charley’s old enough to make those decisions.”
It would be a big statement if Hull and German rookie Esther Henseleit can 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 in a peerless run of six victories in seven runs. There is not much missing on the Korda CV – apart from a Solheim Cup. Three matches and not once on the triumphant team.
Last year’s draw in Spain meant Europe retained the trophy for an unprecedented third time in succession at the Solheim. This time, the opportunity is for even more resonant history.
There are four main transatlantic tussles and the once mighty Americans are flapping. The Walker Cup is 102 years old, the Ryder Cup is 97, the Curtis Cup is 92 and in each of these the longest America has gone potless is three matches. The Solheim is only 35, but Pettersen’s women have the chance to boldly go fourth where no other US opponent has before.
The problem is the visitors have not enjoyed a good season individually, regardless of Pettersen’s positivity. That is what makes Hull so vital to cause, beginning in the alternate format at 7.05am.
The 28-year-old played down the attention to her hip she required from a physio on course on Thursday – “I was just getting it cracked back into place, it always pops out” – and sounded anything but intimidated. “I just love playing golf no matter what,” she said. “I love the American crowds. It’s so much fun. I always love playing a Solheim Cup in America because the atmosphere is unbelievable. The crowds are a great laugh.”
This is not Hull trying to get the ‘U.S.A, U.S.A’ brigade on side. It is simply how she is – smoking included. “I’m just myself,” she said. “If I like things, I like it for myself. If other people don’t like it, well, it’s not their life. I live me. I live my life the way I want to live it, not how anyone else wants me to.”
Of course, Hull and Henseliet could get walloped and Europe could still ultimately prevail. On the Costa del Sol, Pettersen’s favourites were swept 4-0 in the foursomes but fought back to go into the Sunday singles tied at 6-6. There was a whiff of the Americans melting mentally in the heat. Only two of their 12 have been in a successful Solheim dozen and Stacy Lewis, the US captain, is honest enough to admit there are psychological hurdles to clear.
“That’s our biggest challenge this week — the majority of this group hasn’t got over the hump,” Lewis said. “We’ve been close in the last three matches [losing by a point in 2019 and 15-13 in 2021, before last year’s 14-14] and it would mean a tremendous amount to get over the line this week. But we’ve got a lot of work to do before we reach that point.”
