Clouds of worry might be surrounding Charley Hull right now at the Ford Championship. The English golfer had an incredible bogey-free first round in Arizona. Unfortunately, in the second round, she was seen somewhat struggling. She shot 3 under on Friday, consisting of 1 bogey. In times like these, any praise might work as a charm to give that push, right? Luckily, Hull just got that. Enter Lydia Ko.

After the conclusion of the second round of the Ford Championship, Lydia Ko talked about her experience in the press conference. She was asked about being energetic in the course and how it felt to bounce off each other. As a response, Ko said, “Yeah, we had a great group. I haven’t really played a lot with Ronni, but she has a game that I personally really like.” However, she had some extra words of praise for Charley Hull and a five-word message to lift her spirits.

“I’ve been paired a lot with Charley. She’s good at everything, so it was a great pairing. I think we all played really solid. Charley was a bit of an inspiration for us yesterday, shooting the 9-under par.” Charley Hull shot a career-best 63 on Thursday. This isn’t the first time Ko has praised Hull for her dynamic game.

She did the same in Singapore at the HSBC Women’s World Classic Championship as she reflected on her battle with the English golfer. Lydia Ko admitted she was nervous, but her familiarity with Hull’s game helped her stay focused. “Obviously I was nervous. I wanted to play good golf. But I’ve played with Charley and Jeeno quite a bit over the past coupleof  years, and they are some of my favorite players to play with,” Ko said.

Speaking of struggles in the second round in Arizona, Charley Hull opened up, saying, “It’s kind of hard obviously backing up a really good score the day before. Then in your mind you’re thinking, oh, can I get to 60, do you know what I mean?” However, the golfer remained positive and didn’t let the score affect her further, adding, “I felt like I played pretty solid out there today. I holed some good putts, and I missed some that I probably should have holed, but it was a bit windy out there today. It was a little bit trickier on some of the holes, but I’m pretty happy with that and looking forward to the weekend.” 

It’s been three years since Charley Hull won at the 2022 Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America. No doubt she has delivered solid performances over the years, but her winless streak continues. Looking back at the Ford Championship, securing a title may prove even more challenging given her history at this fairly new tournament.

Last year, at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship, Charley Hull finished at T10 and was looking strong coming into the Ford Championship. However, things took an unfortunate turn after the first round of the tournament as she started feeling sick. It’s true that after carding one with a few par putts at the front nine, one bogey, and one birdie in the first round, Hull did enter the second round.

However, after playing the 9th hole and finishing the front, Hull abruptly withdrew. Later, the LPGA Tour Media posted on X and cited Hull’s withdrawal due to an undisclosed illness. In the past, the golfer has struggled with a neck injury but it wasn’t the reason for her withdrawal. Meanwhile, Earlier this month both Hull and Ko had to face questions about their retirement plans.

Charley Hull and Lydia Ko’s different approaches to retirement

At the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore, a reporter asked Hull if she was contemplating retirement. Hull was kind of stunned with the query and immediately put a full stop to the speculations. “I don’t think that’s about me, surely,” Hull said. “Lexi (Thompson) is retiring but not me. Definitely not me. I’ll play golf until I’m on my deathbed.” On the other hand, Ko’s reply was much more measured.

Ko has, in the past, talked about retiring by the age of 30. And as she had put it, several thing goes into retirement consideration. “Thirty is a long way to go,” Ko had said. “I’m 27 now. Soon turning 28. I’m just trying to honestly take it day by day. My schedule has changed. I’ve gone from thinking I was going to play ten, 15 events this year to now playing over 20. And then also kind of reassessing during the middle of the season where I am with my energy levels [and thinking] am I going to play more or less?”

In fact, last year on GOLF’s Subpar Podcast, Ko had talked deeply about her retirement. And she was clear that she takes it day-by-day. She was asked by Colt Kmost and Drew Stoltz if she wanted to play for 20 more years. “To be honest, no,” Ko had said. “I think when I was younger, I said I wanted to retire when I’m 30, and now that I’m inching closer to 30, I’m like, four years is still a long time from now.

“I’m honestly taking it by the day and taking it by the week. When that happens, you’re almost in the middle of the year, and then you’re done with the majors and all that. So I don’t really have a certain date when I want to retire.” How long do you think these two players will extend their careers? Let us know in the comments below.