You might not agree with the statement at the top. And that’s totally fine. So here is something we both can agree on. At least for a start. Rory McIlroy should’ve won at least a few majors in the last couple of years. Three at the least.  You know who else should’ve as well? Charley Hull. That her tally still shows her major count to zero is no less a wonder than McIlroy’s baffling decade-long major drought. If you look at Hull’s career graph in the last few years, the similarities with the Ulsterman become even more staggering. 

Has Charley Hull underachieved?

When 20-year-old Charley Hull crashed on the LPGA Tour, expectation and enthusiasm ran high for the English woman who had barely crossed the threshold of teenage. The youngster broke the course record to win the CME Group Tour Championship by two. “It’s wicked to do it at 20. It feels good to be joining the winners this year,” Hull said herself. 

But even before that, she showed promise in the 2016 ANA Inspiration (Chevron Championship). The British International netted a T2 coming up one stroke short of another prodigy, Lydia Ko. Hull’s late charge on Sunday was foiled by the Kiwi, but in retrospect, that set the tone for Hull’s next few attempts at major. 

She didn’t win Stateside for the next two years. Nevertheless, in 2018, the Charley Hull netted three top-tens in the majors. It took another few years for her to find her groove on the big stage again. 

In between, Hull’s form went through a strange volatile phase. While she missed the cuts in at least one major each year, the 28-year-old also never finished outside the top 30 in any, where she booked the weekend spot. 

Part of that volatility can be attributed to her sporadic bouts of injuries, which unfortunately prop up before major sporting events. Take last year, for example, Hull missed three cuts in the five majors. In the other two, she was a runner-up. In last year’s AIG Women’s Open, Hull finished six shots shy of Lilia Vu. But the end results tell a completely different picture. 

Does Hull lack the killer instinct? 

The Englishwoman started her campaign at the top of the leaderboard. Hull was on a roll till the third round in front of a raucous home crowd. But in the final round, the 28-year-old picked two bogeys in the front nine. The Sunday was a roller-coaster ride as she saved par and birdied the next few holes to come within a reachable distance. 

However, in the back nine, much like McIlroy at Pinehurst, Charley Hull bogeyed the 15th and 17th. With one hole left to play, Hull slipped five shots behind her playing mate, effectively handing her the major glory. 

It’s not just the majors, Hull has been golf’s ‘nearly-woman’ for some time now. The 28-year-old has a handful of top-three finishes across the LPGA Tour and the LET. Clearly, she has been around too long and for too much to not zero in. 

Veteran golfer, Trish Johnson was dumbstuck that Hull hasn’t won more. “It’s basically me saying ‘You should have won 20-odd tournaments already, because I think you are that good’. It’s not an insult, it’s actually a compliment. It’s a slightly backhanded compliment, but it is because she’s that good,” Sky Sports quoted Johnson as saying. 

Johnson might also have thrown the hint behind Hull’s puzzling form. Pin hunting. Hull is one of the hardest hitters on tour (and that goes for press conferences as well). Her swing is bold, powerful, and fast. But her quest for birdies and eagles comes at the expense of bogeys and doubles. The risk often tilts it against the rewards.

Undoubtedly, she is far more skilled and ‘qualified’ than a ‘two-time winner’, that her LPGA Tour bio displays. Last year alone, Hull, despite struggling with injuries, netted five top-tens of which four were runner-ups. The Annika Driven solo second was another this year. Like McIlroy, Hull has been lurking at the top.

They are currently two of the most popular Europeans on this side of the Atlantic. In recent years, both Hull and McIlroy’s years are marked more by stories of near-misses than thumping glories.