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OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERSDecember 3, 2013Charley HullDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES BETHAN CUTLER: Like to welcome the Ladies European Tour leading rookie, Charley Hull from England. This is your first time here at the OMEGA Dubai Ladies Masters. Can you just start by talking about your experiences and impressions so far? CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, the golf course is in very good condition and my first time here. It's amazing. I love this place. It's like perfect place for golf I think. BETHAN CUTLER: What about the golf course, does it suit your game? CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I think, so, well, what I've seen of it so far. Coming from last week in India, it was very, very tight and now this seems a bit more wider. You can't relax, but you can hit your driver a little bit more around here. It's good, and I really like the greens here because they are very fast and they are firm. I think it's good. BETHAN CUTLER: Obviously sets up a battle for the final tournament of the year between you and Holly, you've got the edge at the moment. I think you're about 12,000 Euros ahead. Are you feeling confident that you can get a win and top Rookie of the Year. CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I'm not going to be thinking about it too much to be honest, just hit a shot, find it, hit it again. That's what I always say, because then it can lead to a good result. Q. How important will it be for your to win a tournament in your rookie year, given the amazing results that you've had this year? CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, well, it would be‑‑ just top off everything I've done this year, because I've had a lot of Top‑10s, I think nearly every tournament, so it's been great. But definitely to win is what I myself would really like because it proves to myself that I can win and not just finish second. Q. Just looking ahead, do you have any goals or ambitions? Are you starting to talk Majors, world No. 1 or is that too far into the future? CHARLEY HULL: Well, it would be pretty awesome if I could win a major next year. I think that's any golfer's dream. But I think once I put a time, as I look at it, if I think of trying to hit that shot that I'm about to hit as good as I can, at least good results, winning tournaments, and then where I want to be. Q. Do you think you can compete here this week, and with Shanshan and Stacy in the field, it's a pretty hot field, but how far do you think you can go come the weekend? CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, well, it's a great field here. Again, just one shot at a time. Look at the scores from the previous years, and there has not been always an exact number that wins this tournament. So I heard that the rough is a bit more thicker this year. I haven't played here before, but I think that there will be probably some low scores, so just keep to my game plan and see how the week goes. Q. Are you concerned with Holly catching you up? Do you know what she needs to do to catch you this week? CHARLEY HULL: I don't know, probably like she has to get in the Top‑10 or something. So yeah, she could easily do that. I'm not thinking of that too much to be honest. I just want to concentrate on trying to win the tournament. Q. Just looking back on the year, how big was Solheim Cup, and you're paired with Carlota for the first round, will that bring back memories? Do you reckon you'll be talking about it on the way around? CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I like Carlota, she's so laid back, and I'm good friends with her and her caddie. Yeah, definitely we probably won't be talking about it, because we'll be concentrating but it's always good to play with an ex‑teammate. It will be good fun but it will be good because in the Solheim we're together and now we're here competing against each other, so this is a bit different. Q. Laura Davies was here yesterday, she said she could be your mother, but she's very good friends with you. Could you just tell me how at 17 years of age, how have you adapted to the Tour conditions and has it been very difficult for you the first year turning pro, or has it been a lot of fun? CHARLEY HULL: It's been a lot of fun, because my first professional tournament was Morocco at the beginning of the year. I played with Laura and I that the 64, and I think that's kind of like when she kind of like noticed me, I was kind of all right. Yeah, we got on from there; and I support Liverpool, she supports Liverpool, and I'm really looking forward to going to that match. But yeah, my first year's been amazing. Traveling to all these different countries, and I'm 17, and some of my friends haven't even been outside Europe or England probably. I think it's great, and I think it's a lot of fun, definitely. My golf, I feel like I keep improving every tournament, just like learning different little things, how to handle the pressure and stuff‑‑ well, not the pressure, just like different situations I'm in. Q. Did you ever imagine you would be in this position in England growing up and second of all, following up on Laura Davies, how much of an inspiration and role model has she been for you? CHARLEY HULL: Oh, yeah, Laura‑‑ I think I was ten years old when I played‑‑ it was the Weetabix back then, it was the Pro‑Am and I played actually with Morgan Pressel. And I went in to get something to eat with the players at the end, and I met Laura Davies and had a picture with her. I've actually got the picture, I think my manager's got it in his phone still because he's downloaded it. Ever since then‑‑ I've always heard of Laura Davies before that obviously, and I've always looked up to her. When I was playing golf with my friends, we would all pretend to be like certain golfers and stuff, and I'm pretending to be Laura; and now you're competing against her and it's pretty awesome to be honest. Q. How good is it for English golf that both you and Holly are coming through at the same time and how does that bode for the Olympics looking ahead? CHARLEY HULL: I think it's really good. I've known Holly for quite a while now. I remember first playing with Holly when I was like 11 and we actually halved our match. I remember actually having about a five‑foot putt on the last to beat her and I missed it. It's kind of been probably been‑‑ since then, we've had, not a rivalry but it's been like kind of like to now, it's been good because we've always been playing the same competitions. So it's always good to have someone your rookie year, like a friend playing against, as well. But yeah, for English golf, I think it's fantastic, the two players coming up and having a great rookie year and whipping a lot of people's‑‑ (laughter)‑‑ on the Tour. So I think it's great for English golf. Q. You've sort of swept on to the tour like a breath of fresh air, and you've gone on record recently saying it's not an old man's game. What do you think the game needs? CHARLEY HULL: Well, I think there's a lot of different, for golf, as well, different stuff in golf. If you look at what Paula Creamer has done for the game, Natalie Gulbis and all of that, if you look at that, you wouldn't think that's an old man's sport. But I think it's getting a lot better and it's a lot of fun. I've had a few like children coming up to me saying, "I watch you on TV and I want to play," and they go out and play, which I think it's really good when you inspire some young people. So I think hopefully it's getting slowly into it more, younger people. Q. So being the teen phenom that you are, travelling the world and being exposed to different cultures and cities, making money now compared to I'm sure a lot of your friends are having a good time listening to music and whatnot while you're traveling the world now. Are there any investments that you're thinking of making, maybe now that Dubai has the Expo, traveling to any of these cities, have there been any ideas or epiphanies you've had along the way, like, I'll invest in this or real estate or whatnot, or have you been thinking about these things? CHARLEY HULL: I haven't really been thinking about that. I've just been thinking about getting that little ball in the hole. Yeah, like my friends think it's amazing, like the places that I go to. And I'm probably pick up on things when I'm older, but at the moment I'm just concentrating on golf. But I think it's amazing to see all different cultures on stuff which you see on the Ladies European Tour, because you go to different countries every week, which is fantastic. Yeah, at the moment, I'm concentrating on golf and music. Q. Any of your friends tagging along the way? CHARLEY HULL: No, not this year, because my dad had to accompany me until I'm 18, which I'm 18 the end of March. So at the moment, no, but probably next year, they will probably come out to a few because I've got a few golfing trends. Q. What's with the music? CHARLEY HULL: I don't know, it's good to dance to, isn't it. Q. What music? CHARLEY HULL: Oh, I don't know, I like Arctic Monkeys and I like a few like dancy tunes‑‑ on my head phones, I try to have a song in my head when I play golf. Q. Have you given a thought to the LPGA Tour, and was there a thought in your mind that you will skip here and go to the qualifying school this year? CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, well, I was going to, but I thought, if I get a few invites next year, because I didn't want to go straight over there‑‑ go over there straightaway, because I didn't want to miss my childhood, see my friends, going out, having a good time where I don't want to move to America straightaway, because I still want to enjoy my life which I'm still enjoying it at the moment. And I'm playing good golf on the Ladies European Tour. Went well when I went to Canada and played in the LPGA event there, I came in 17th, that was off the Solheim. I think I'm balancing out pretty good and I think I'm going to play a mixture of invites on the LPGA Tour next year and on here, as well. I think it's good. Q. As a 17‑year‑old, do you idolise somebody like Tiger Woods, who is now 37, or a Rory McIlroy who is now 23, 24? CHARLEY HULL: Well, I look at Tiger Woods, because he's just Tiger Woods, isn't he. Just the stuff that he does, and his concentration I think is fantastic. Then you look at Rory, he has done nothing for a year and then he just goes out and wins, which shows everyone has a dark patch, even at the early part of his career. So I try to look at both of them, and some younger players, as well. I think it's kind of good to look at age he is. Q. Does his victory inspire you? CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, definitely, because I think‑‑ did he win here in Dubai? Well, not here, he won Dubai last year, as well. So it's just‑‑ well, a lot of stuff. It would be cool to win in Dubai. BETHAN CUTLER:  Thank for joining us and best of luck. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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