Charley Hull captured her first professional victory on American soil after winning the LPGA Tour’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Florida.
The 20-year-old from Kettering shot a final round 66 at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples to finish on a tournament record 19 under par to beat South Korea’s Ryu So-yeon by two shots.
Hull started the final round with a one-shot lead over Ryu and America’s Brittany Lincombe, and appeared nervous at the start, hitting her tee shot to the right at the first hole followed by a wayward approach at the second. But the Woburn player soon steadied the ship, with birdies at the third, 7th and 8th holes to pull two shots clear at the turn.
Ryu fought back on the back nine, and was level with Hull by the 16th hole, with both players tied at 18 under par. But the Korean missed a crucial par putt on the 17th, while Hull birdied the hole to complete a two-shot swing. Both players then parred the last, handing Hull the title, in the final tournament of the season.
Hull, who was ranked 29th in the world before the win, fired 12 birdies and 24 pars in her final 36 holes, without a single dropped shot. She picked up $500,000 for the victory – her biggest ever prize.
It was Hull’s second title since turning professional in 2013, with the first winning coming at the Lalla Meryem Cup on the Ladies European Tour in 2014.
“It feels great to be a winner on the LPGA Tour,” Hull said. “It’s wicked to do it 20 years old, and be among the young group of players that have won out here this year.”
She added: “It feels like there has been a lot of pressure on me to win coming off my performance in the Solheim Cup in 2013. I was 17 years old and I had five second-place finishes in my first five starts, and it took me over a year to win in Europe. And it’s taken me over 50 starts to win in America, so it certainly feels like I’ve got a monkey off my back. I’ve had a great four years as a pro – time has really flown by – but I’m having a lot of fun.”