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OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERS

December 6, 2016

Charley Hull

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

BETHAN CUTLER: Congratulations on your recent victory in America. You've lifted a lot of trophies, as well, here in Dubai, Rookie of the Year in 2013 and also Order of Merit in 2014. What are you hoping to achieve this year?

CHARLEY HULL: Well, I feel pretty good with my golf game at the moment. So I will hopefully try to look for a win here because I've never actually won the tournament here. It would be pretty cool to finish the season on a high.

Q. You seem to have fun on Tour. What's the craziest thing you've done?
CHARLEY HULL: The craziest thing I've done on Tour? Don't know, really. It's not really crazy but it's a bit embarrassing. The second hole in Atlantic City in America, the second hole, I was laughing at my tee shot and I couldn't stop like laughing and I duffed my driver about 47 yards off the tee box. That was pretty crazy and a pretty dumb thing to do. It was so embarrassing. Yeah, I duffed a drive, 47 yards, dead straight. Because it went down -- you know the grass path, they roll it in the middle of the rough, just rolled it down there.

Q. You seem to have many friends on Tour. Who are your BFFs?
CHARLEY HULL: I don't really have many BFFs actually on Tour. I'd say my caddie. I get on with him really well. Probably Jay Greene, actually. She's in America and I've known her since I was about 13, 14. She's probably one of my best friends on Tour.

Q. How comfortable do you feel on this golf course and how it suits your eyes?
CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I really enjoy it, ever since I first had a look at this golf course three years ago, I've loved it. I think it's a great golf course. I think it's well designed. I like it when they play it like a little bit longer like they did a couple years ago but they shortened it the last two years, but I think it brings more people in. It's a great golf course. I think I can go low around here. You know, hopefully I can do that this week.

Q. What are areas of the game are you concentrating now that you've won on the LPGA Tour?
CHARLEY HULL: I try to concentrate on all of it to be honest. I'd like to get my chipping a little bit better. It's not been as good the past couple years, used to be one of my strengths but now I would say it's one of my weaknesses. It's definitely one thing I want to work on but I want to work on all of it at the end of the day.

Q. It's obviously a strong field again this year. How difficult is that going to be to get that win here and finally get your hands on the Trophy?
CHARLEY HULL: I am just going to keep on playing my own game. I would like to win but at the end of the day I want to concentrate on hitting one shot at a time and try to get four good rounds of golf together.

Q. Is there any motivation you take going up against Shanshan, who's won here the past few years? Do you take any motivation going up against her?
CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I've played a lot and I've enjoyed playing with her. I haven't looked at pairings yet. I don't know who I'm playing with.

But I actually learned something off Shanshan a few weeks back, because when she won, I think it was in Japan, she said that she doesn't look at score boards on the way around. So I didn't look at the score boards last week when I won in America at the CME event, and I won. So hopefully I can do it again this week.

Q. Was it difficult to do?
CHARLEY HULL: It was to begin with, and then it was fine. Just don't look at them.

Q. Suzann Pettersen is here this week, as well. Do you think it's a more challenging field as well and is that a good thing for your own game?
CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, it's always a pretty good field. Usually have Stacy here, as well. I like it when all the like top players are here because it kind of gives a good atmosphere to it, the event.

Q. Does it make you want to perform better? Obviously it forces you to.
CHARLEY HULL: I always want to perform well, so I wouldn't say it makes me perform better but if I do perform well, you know, it's with some of the best players.

Q. You don't seem like someone who lacks confidence generally, and you often hear players when they have a breakthrough win like you had a couple of weeks ago saying, it's a real confidence booster. Do you feel like you needed that for confidence?
CHARLEY HULL: Well, I felt like I was playing well leading up to that event, and to get the win feels really good and I feel dead confident. But at the end of the day, I kind of didn't think about it for too long after, because I didn't want to be on a high for too long. I was literally on a high for just the flight back and then kind of was like, okay, need to get back to work.

I did have time to enjoy it and celebrate with my friends. Like I had a few drinks and stuff. But yeah, I felt like I did need it to prove that I can win again on the LPGA Tour. It was fun.

Q. Obviously you've won rookie here and you've actually secured Order of Merit here, as well, so you've got good memories of this event?
CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I do have great memories of this event. It's fun. I like it. Especially winning the Rookie of the Year because I remember it being quite close between me and Holly, and I kind of felt the pressure, but played well for it and the year after, there was a bit of a battle between me and Gwladys, but I played well again.

Q. How much would it mean to you to actually win this event, as well?
CHARLEY HULL: It would be pretty cool to finish a win on the LPGA Tour season and I've won the final event and it would be pretty cool if I could finish with a win on the LET.

Q. Does it seem like there's less to play for this season because Order of Merit is gone, Rookie is gone?
CHARLEY HULL: No, not at all.

Q. Why?
CHARLEY HULL: Because it's just another event and I want to win it. So in it to win it.

BETHAN CUTLER: I've heard you say you're going to concentrate on your golf when you get to 24; is that right?

CHARLEY HULL: I didn't mean it exactly like that. But I mean, like that's when -- I feel like I didn't want to get rid of these years from like 18 to I'm 24, because that's when you make the most memories with your friends, I suppose.

Q. What do you think about between shots?
CHARLEY HULL: I don't think about golf. That's one thing I never thought about is golf. Like sometimes I'll be thinking about a dress that I'm going to wear out the next weekend or just something with my friends and stuff.

Q. Have you got your driving license?
CHARLEY HULL: No, I haven't got my driving license yet. I really want to get my driving license because it would make it so much easier because I'm relying on my friends for lifts and stuff all the time. No, I do need to pass my test.

Q. How do you balance golf and life?
CHARLEY HULL: I don't know, I think I've been doing it quite well lately. It's just kind of, you've got to be -- at the end of the day, you only live once and you don't want to live it too engrossed in one thing or the other. You've got to have balance, and I feel like I have a good balance, and got to turn on, turn off. You have to learn how to switch off and that's what I do with my friends and go out and stuff. I think I balance it pretty well.

Q. Is that something that you work at?
CHARLEY HULL: When I was younger, I didn't quite have it as much. I went through a point where I, literally two years ago, all I did was golf, golf, golf, and it kind of made me a bit ill. It was really weird. After that, I kind of loosened up a bit and I've kind of -- it's helped me, having a good time with my friends.

Q. Do you need anyone to keep reminding you that you need to take a break?
CHARLEY HULL: I used to all the time. I still do a little bit now. But not really. I've kind of got the balance now.

Q. You said you haven't looked at the draw. You're playing with Suzann and Gwladys?
CHARLEY HULL: Okay, cool.

Q. Have you played with Suzann since Germany? Have you been paired together?
CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I have played with Suzann since Germany. I think only once, though. It was like eight months ago.

Q. When you break through the way you did and won rookie and Order of Merit, what's sort of left in your career? What more do you want to do? What's your end goal from golf?
CHARLEY HULL: There's majors and I want to win more tournaments and you want to become world No. 1 and there's the Olympics, so you've got loads of things. They are just like the starting points. There's so much out there to look forward to that I want to win.

Q. How do you feel about next season in terms of majors?
CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, well, I came second in a major this year and felt like I performed quite well in them in the past. At the end, they are just another event, but I love the feeling of them. I love getting the big buzz off the big tournaments.

I'm just really looking forward to it. I think I've got a good chance, if I keep playing well and keep it in the right mind-set.

Q. Do you look at people like Laura Davies, because Laura came through very similar to yourself, she won rookie and Order of Merit straightaway. Do you look at people like that as a benchmark, like you could be the next best British golfer?
CHARLEY HULL: Well, I don't really look at stuff like that. I just think -- I just play golf. I don't really look at stats and statistics. It's pretty cool that Laura has done that and obviously Laura is a legend. You can't really change what Laura has done and she's always been kind of the Mum of English and British golf.

It could be pretty cool in the future if I can win tournaments but I don't even think about that; or should I say, the grandma now. (Laughter).

BETHAN CUTLER: Thank you for your time.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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