Standing over a 2-foot birdie putt to win the Kroger Queen City Championship, Charley Hull was in shock.
It wasn’t just because she was about to end a 1,077-day winless drought on the LPGA. Hull’s final-round playing partner, world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul, held a one-stroke lead heading to the par-5 18th at TPC River’s Bend. Thitikul, though, four-putted from 50 feet, including missing a 5-footer and then a comebacker from 3 feet, gifting Hull a chance to capture the victory.
“When I realized I had it for the win, I had this mad shock of adrenaline come through me and my hands was like shaking,” said Hull, who finished at 20 under par. “I was like, ‘oh, no.’ Usually, I can calm it down in like five minutes, but I had to play straight away. I had to back off it twice.
“I don’t know how like Tiger Woods won that many tournaments, that much pressure.”
Hull, though, overcame the nerves and added a win to her turbulent year despite being “a bit injured at the moment.”
It's the 29-year-old Englishwoman’s first LPGA start since the AIG Women’s Open, where she finished runner-up. Dealing with several health issues this year, she hurt her back early in the summer by picking up a box, believing she tore something that never properly healed. Then, at the Evian Championship in July, she collapsed twice in Round 1 of the championship due to a virus and withdrew. A few weeks later, after the AIG Women’s Open, she tripped over a curb at the PIF London Championship and suffered a ligament tear in her ankle.
Charley Hull conquers Queen City 👑 pic.twitter.com/2khHUBBAIF
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 14, 2025
“Got told it could be up to nine weeks I could be out,” Hull said. “I was like, ‘Wow, I turned it round in three weeks’; played last week [at the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Houston Championship, finishing second].”
How did she return so quickly?
“My body has been actually pretty good. A little bit sore,” she said. “But no, I’ve just been absolutely grinding hard at home after I had 14 days off because of my injury, and then the last week hitting so many golf balls and practicing hard. Hard work pays off, and it has and I just feel good at the minute.”
Surprisingly, her ailments helped her return to the winner’s circle.
“I always find when I’m poorly ill, I usually play good golf,” the world’s eighth-ranked player said. “My mind is 100 miles an hour, but when I’m poorly I find I’m more relaxed, and I probably expect less and do less. My days are usually full out, going to the gym, golf, practice. When I’m kind of poorly or injured I do a lot less and I put less pressure on myself. Then I kind of do better sometimes.”
However, the intensity was in full force standing over the final putt. And after making it, she set an LPGA record, becoming the 25th different winner this season (there have been no repeat champions).
“It shows you how strong and the depth there is on the LPGA Tour,” Hull said. “Like, going back, say, 20 years ago, it was—you would get very much the same winners because always the top 10 on the rankings.
“Now, I feel like the depth is so strong, so that shows you how strong the Tour is. It’s getting harder and harder to win, so you’ve have to play good every week.”
And that’s exactly what Hull did this week, regardless of Thitikul’s mishaps at the end.
“At the end of the day,” Hull said, “I just felt like I needed a little bit of luck on my side in the last few years, because I don’t feel like it’s ever gone my way and it’s finally got my way for once.
“Every dog has its day.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Charley Hull Wins Kroger LPGA After World No. 1 Has Nightmare Final Hole.
