Charley Hull is heading into the LPGA season finale determined to finish strongly after battling passport delays and illness to produce a powerful showing at The Annika.
A visa renewal hold-up meant Hull couldn’t leave England for Florida until Tuesday. She withdrew from the Wednesday pro-am feeling unwell and arrived without a practice round, yet managed to regroup quickly on the course.
Hull opened with a 68 at Pelican Golf Club, followed by consecutive 67s, and closed with a bogey-free 63 to surge up the leaderboard. The English star finished tied for fourth, five strokes behind Solheim Cup team-mate Linn Grant.
Reflecting on her final round, Hull said they decided to “go for everything” and try to chase down Grant. “I just played pretty solid all day. I hit it pretty well — even left some putts out there. I feel good going into next week [CME Group Tour Championship], especially without having a practice round this week,” she added.
Only the top 60 available players in the Race to the CME Globe standings qualify for the season finale, and Hull arrives as the highest-ranked European after another impressive campaign. The 29-year-old picked up her third LPGA title at the Kroger Queen City Championship in September and was runner-up at the AIG Women’s Open.
Hull also relishes returning to Tiburon Golf Club, where she earned her first LPGA victory in 2016 and finished second in 2019. “It feels really good. I’ve got good memories of it,” she said, pointing to the confidence that comes from past success at the venue.
The CME Group Tour Championship carries a historic prize: $4 million to the winner — the largest single prize in women’s golf — with $1 million for the runner-up.
The field includes major champions Miyu Yamashita, Grace Kim, Mao Saigo and Maja Stark, plus Linn Grant and Nelly Korda, who is seeking to avoid a winless season. Rookie Lottie Woad joins Hull as a compatriot in the field after turning professional this summer, and England currently has two players inside the world top 10 for the first time.
Other European contenders include Celine Boutier, Carlota Ciganda, Esther Henseleit, Madelene Sagstrom, and Leona Maguire. World No. 1 and defending champion Jeeno Thitikul leads the season standings after two wins and 13 top-10s.
Broadcast info: all four rounds of the CME Group Tour Championship are live on Sky Sports Golf, starting at 7pm for the first three days and at 6pm for Sunday’s final round. The LPGA season finale is one of two golf events shown live on Sky Sports this week, alongside the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic.