Georgia Hall had just been told that in the century-plus history of transatlantic tussles the golf powerhouse of America has never been denied four times in succession and suddenly this Solheim Cup week became yet more enticing.
“I did not know that,” Hall said. “So it would be even more special if we were to win again. Especially on US soil.”
The 28-year-old from Bournemouth has shared in the staggering Europe success story in the last three matches, which culminated in the 2024 draw in Spain that saw Suzann Pettersen’s team retain the trophy and set history in this particular biennial dust-up.
But starting Friday in Washington DC, the host nation’s capital, the challenge is to forge an even bigger achievement.
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.
“Golf is as much about the past as the present and this is an opportunity for us,” Hall said. “I know the formbook and the rankings are against us, but the same was largely true in 2021 at Inverness [in Toledo]. And because of Covid and the restrictions of travel we hardly had any support then. You know, lots of us on this team played that year [there are eight survivors] so we have the experience and know what it takes.”
Hall laughed when asked if it possible to tell the state of the game by the octane levels of the perpetual chant of “U.S.A, U.S.A”. “Quite possibly, “ she replies. “But we knew it was going our way when the fans started leaving in the final hour – they couldn’t bear to see their team beaten. Yeah, it’s great when you’re playing at home and being cheered on to victory, but it was great when we heard the silence, particularly because of how some of the US fans had behaved.
“There is nothing wrong when they are being passionate about their players, but there were comments when we were playing our shots like ‘hit in the bunker’, ‘miss the green’. It’s silly as that just fires us up even more.”
Hall was wonderful in the 2019 triumph at Gleneagles, with her and Celine Boutier winning all three of their foursomes and fourballs, before the Englishwoman beat Lexi Thompson to make it four wins from four matches.
However, 12 months ago, Hall and Boutier could not repeat the magic, losing both foursomes. There were whispers of the pair falling out, but Hall insists this is false. “We just didn’t click, didn’t play our best and that’s just golf and that’s just foursomes,” Hall said. “I think we’ve only lost two out of six games we’ve played together so our record is pretty good. And if Suzann puts us back out there this time, I’d definitely have no complaints.”
Without any offence to Boutier, however, Hall is hoping for another partner at the Robert Trent Jones Club, a player whom she first met when they were both 11. “Charley [Hull] and I have been best friends all that time, really,” Hall says. “We sort of rose through the ranks together, although she was obviously quicker, starring in that 2013 Solheim win in Denver as a 17-year-old, and hardly a day goes by when we don’t speak to each other.
“We are very competitive with each other, though. When we were young and playing for England we’d do this game when we’d both put mouthwash in our mouth and see who could last the longest, with it stinging and everything. She calls me George and I call her Charles and we know everything about each other. She says I know better than she knows herself. We know our games inside out.”
So why have they only played together once in the Solheim, on Hall’s debut in 2017? “Don’t ask me, I have no idea,” Hall said. “It would make perfect sense to me for us to play together and I’d love it. I think we’d be a great fit. We played well together at the Dow [Pairs Championship on the LPGA Tour in June, where they finished fifth] so maybe this will be the week.”
The duo share the same perspective on the States and the likelihood of ever living there permanently, like so many of their male counterparts. “Never,” Hall says. “I would never live there permanently. I like the British way of life and the British sense of humour, with the sarcasm and everything. I don’t go much on the culture in the US or the food. I guess Charley and me are just home-lovers and play over there in batches.”
It sounds manna for a Europe captain and a mutual friend certainly sees the potential for a classic matchplay yin-and-yang partnership, in which their personalities and beliefs dovetail in tandem with their games. Ryan Evans, a pro on the Challenge tour, has even supplied a nickname. “We have this mate called Ryan who calls us “The Rose and The Thorn’. He says that I’m the rose and she is the thorn and Charley sees the funny side. But I told her that the thorn protects the rose and she protects me. We look out for each other.”
Hall has needed an ally in 2024, as she has fallen from inside the world’s top 20 to 48th in the rankings, a standing that is no way appropriate for a proven champion who won the 2018 Women’s Open. At last month’s British major, where she came 22nd, Hall spoke of her problems being more between the ears than the shoulder blades.
“The first six months of the year was some of the worst golf I’ve played as a pro, but technically it actually wasn’t that bad,” she says. “My mental health was an issue, because I was thinking negatively and then that feeds into my game. I’m not going to moan about being a pro, because it was my dream and I know I’m lucky, but it can be lonely in hotel rooms, especially when the scores are bad. I said it at St Andrews, but it’s a case of coming to recognise who I am off the golf course, not just Georgia Hall the golfer.
“So I think that’s been good for me. And as far as my golf, I’ve always been a late starter when it comes to the season and have been encouraged by how I’ve played of late. I’m going into the Solheim confident I can contribute for my team.”
