Charley Hull has lived all her life with the weight of expectations crushing her back since she was a teenager, lighting up the Solheim Cup in 2013. She has been called the lady Tiger Woods, a name, however, she detests. Partly due to the weight it brings? Maybe. Now, more than a decade later, she’s still one of the most recognizable faces in women’s golf. Yet for all her talent, the one thing still missing among her piled-up accolades is a major championship. And that, according to Dame Laura Davies, is about to change.

Davies, a four-time major champion and one of the most decorated English golfers of her time, summed up her belief in Hull’s future. As per the 61-year-old, Hull’s string of near-misses isn’t a bad luck looming over her. Rather, it’s a sign that her moment is imminent, apparently as close as the upcoming season. “Without a doubt, yeah. I know she’s not won any of the majors, but she’s been really unlucky in the majors quite recently,” she told GolfMagic, affirming her belief that next year by now, Charley Hull will be a major champion.

It’s hard to argue that. Of course, none of us can see the future, and anything can happen in golf. Look at Nelly Korda. Last year, she started her season with a major win, went on to collect 7 victories overall, only for her bag to be empty this year. And this happened despite scoring the same scores and stats as last year. Now that’s what you call bad luck. Hull’s record in the majors over the past has also been like this. She had suffered a long list of long-ifs, unhidden by people.

“She’s had her chances. She’s tried to chase them down, but Lilia Vu held on at the Women’s British Open two years ago. Just before that, it was Allisen Corpuz who denied her at the US Open, and obviously she was close again at Porthcawl,” says Davies. Hull has time and again come close but still that victory eludes her in major championships. As Davies remarks, at Walton Heath in 2023, Hull went into the final round tied with Lilia Vu, only to be outgunned (2) by the American’s closing 67. “I don’t feel like anything went my way today,” she had said later on.

Weeks earlier at Pebble Beach, Hull had a spectacular final day with a 66 that featured an eagle and six birdies, but Allisen Corpuz snatched the deal (Hull finished T2). And at Royal Porthcrawl this summer, Hull battled back from 11 shots off the pace before two late bogeys killed her charge (T2, again). That runner-up finish was her fourth in a major. Excruciating close calls, Charley!

If luck and the universe has been against her, so is her health. This year was straight-up bizarre and unreal for Hull, considering the amount of injuries and sickness she went through. She collapsed twice during the Evian Championship due to a virus that got her hooked to IV fluids. Then, later, she hurt her back and found out cysts were developing in her spine, and very recently, she damaged an ankle ligament at the Centurion Club, forcing her to withdraw from the PIF London Championship. “[It] was very discomforting for her and obviously put her back a little bit,” Davies recalls.

For most players, these would have been enough to call it a season. But Hull kept pushing through and kept returning to contention. Although she lost narrowly to Nuria Iturrioz in Houston, she was eventually awarded her third LPGA Tour victory at the Kroger Queen City Championship — a win many called ‘shocking’ considering how unexpected it was. And also putting an end to her winless drought since 2022.

Laura Davies believes Hull’s ability to shrug off adversity is exactly why her first major is inevitable. But she also pointed out what has held Hull back in the past: lapses in concentration. “Charley always plays well,  it’s just that sometimes her concentration levels aren’t massive… I actually think she should have won double, or even triple, what she’s already won.” Well, this is a critique Hull herself has hinted at several times.After her stumble on the 16th and 17th holes at Porthcawl, she admitted she was “cooked mentally.” Even after her victory in Cincinnati, it nearly slipped through her fingers after a bogey at 17 left her “shaking” over the final putt. Moreover, that concentration problem could also point to the fact that Hull also suffers from ADHD, which she admitted to.

“That’s just part of being Charley,” Davies adds.

Still, talent wins out. And Hull’s game has never been about playing safe. Fans can only hope that Laura Davies’ prophecy for Hull comes true. However, for Charley, she can only try to be more and more patient and focused, something which she feels went out of hand during the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. recently.

Charley Hull’s impatience almost costs a rift with Lexi Thompson

At the Women’s PGA, cameras caught a tense moment between her and Lexi Thompson, which sparked rumors of a rift. Hull later clarified there was no bad blood, but she also admitted that her ADHD sometimes makes her appear distracted or abrupt, feeding into misunderstandings.

It all circles back to the same reality: Hull can be her own biggest enemy, but also her fiercest competition. When she channels her energy, few in the women’s game can match her shot-making and resilience. If she can keep her concentration in check — no small task given her battles with health and the mental strain of elite sport — her first major championship may not just be possible, but inevitable.