A late arrival in Belleair, Florida, and then an abrupt withdrawal from the ANNIKA’s pro-am. These were enough for Charley Hull‘s fans to knit their eyebrows in worry. The Englishwoman has had a storybook season. She ended her 1,077-day winless drought, all while facing physical setbacks jarring with her body. Yet she was there for R1 and is currently T4 on the leaderboard. So, do fans need to worry? Not so much, since she also doesn’t seem to be worried. But an alarming pattern says otherwise.

Posting a story on her Instagram, Hull is sitting in her car, updating her fans with ANNIKA’s day 1 shenanigans. “So, got in the tournament late. Couldn’t even play in the pro-am yesterday because I was ill. So I just winged it around today. Basically, no practice this week, have not seen the golf course. Still, done a pretty good job,” she said with a beaming smile.

Hull gave no further reason for her absence. Which makes it hard to speculate if this “illness” will anyhow cloud her leftover rounds in the event. The scare at the Amundi Evian Championship still feels fresh. That was also the first round, when the Englishwoman collapsed twice on the course (during her third and fourth holes). The fainting came with blurred visions, weakness, with her being carried off the course on a stretcher. She eventually withdrew. But the way she’s played so far at The Annika, it doesn’t look like there can be such a possibility.

29-year-0ld Hull carded a 3-under 68, which was mixed with a bogey and double bogey. But compensating for that, she shot six birdies altogether. A flawless bogey-free 32 on the front nine placed her right in the leaderboard. By 5 pm ET, she was sitting beside Mao Saigo, Leona Maguire, and Somi Lee. Yet, throughout the round, every Hull fan hoped for her to scrape through without falling flat on the ground.

Hull’s illness earlier opened a Pandora’s box of injuries for Hull. After a T21 in the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open and a spectacular runner-up at the AIG Women’s Open, Hull looked healthy as ever before. But that did not last long. In early August at the PIF London Championship, she tripped over a curb, hearing a loud pop sound from her ankle. Scans confirmed that her ligament had snapped, and Hull would require a nine-week recovery.

A month later, she came back to the Kroger Queen City Championship, shooting spectacular rounds of 68-65-67-68, and winning her first tournament of the season. This was followed by a T14 at the LOTTE Championship. But none of this meant that she was doing ok.

In a LPGA Tour podcast, Hull opened up on the extent of her troubles. “…I’ve got these cysts growing on the side of my spine.  It’s from where I’ve torn the muscles. It’s just these little cysts where I’ve torn my back.” This back injury was caused by lifting a box, just two weeks before the Amundi Evian Championship. This issue flared up recently at the International Crown, where she experienced renewed back pain. But she competed nonetheless, placing her Team World on a third-place finish.

So, against this backdrop, her absence from the pro-am at The ANNIKA will likely induce fear in everyone’s mind. The attention is already on the event, with the President’s granddaughter, Kai Trump, competing as one of the contenders. Will Charley Hull bag her second win of the year, amidst all these layers? Waiting till Sunday will clear all the doubts.

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Is Charley Hull’s second win incoming?

For Charley Hull, ANNIKA is unfinished business. Last year, she led through 54 holes before a faltering front nine in the R4. Her three early bogeys gave a wide way to the ultimate champion, Nelly Korda, and Hull was given the runner-up position. As that might dominate her mindset in Florida this week, Hull will have some tough fights to go through. But her season does prove that she might be able to reach the other side, unscathed.

From her 14 starts this season, she’s made cuts in 12 and has three top-10s on her CV. Currently, she’s ranked fourth on the Rolex Rankings, with 5.94 points, and has a Strokes Gained: Total of 1.88. Overall, she has a 12-1 odds of winning the tournament.

But on her way, she’ll have Nelly Korda, who is looking for her fourth win at ANNIKA. The American has remained winless this season, despite several good performances and a second-place rank in the world. So, the course at Florida proves a perfect platform to take back her lost shine. Her direct rival, Jeeno Thitikul, is absent from the event, which gives her odds of 6-1 to win. Then there’s Mao Saigo, who might not bring much experience, but her win at the Chevron Championship does make her an unavoidable factor. She holds a 35-1 odds to win. Currently, both she and Charely Hull are tied for the fourth position.