This week, Charley Hull is in the hunt at a major championship yet again.
The golf cult hero has five runner-up finishes in majors so far in her career, with the latest coming at last month’s U.S. Women’s Open. But she’s never triumphed at any of the five majors found in women’s golf. That could change this week.
At the Amundi Evian Championship, the fourth women’s major of the season, Hull rallied from a rough start to shoot an impressive five-under 66 in Thursday’s opening round, leaving her two shots off the early lead.
But Hull’s mid-round turnaround may have been precipitated by a bizarre scene that occurred toward the end of her day: cameras caught someone delivering an ice cream cone to Hull on the course.
After her round, Hull cleared up any questions about the ice-cream incident and even jokingly credited it for her blazing finish.
It was a hot day on Thursday at Evian Resort Club, as France continues to suffer through a sweltering summer. That might begin to explain the scene in Hull’s group on the 15th hole during Round 1.
There, video cameras rolled as someone walked up to Hull and her caddie, and then handed Hull a small ice cream cone, which appeared to be topped with one scoop of vanilla ice cream.
But this was not some new-fangled sports nutrition fad, à la Bryson DeChambeau’s milkshake bulking circa 2020, nor was it Hull’s new strategy to quit cigarettes (or is it vaping?).
When a TV reporter caught up to Hull on the course to find out what was going on, the three-time LPGA tour winner tried to make it very clear that the ice cream was not for her.
“Everyone is going to think the ice cream is for me. It’s not — it’s for Adsy,” a smiling Hull said, referring to her caddie Adam Woodward.
“It’s mine. I’m not the athlete in this relationship,” Woodward confirmed.
As if to convince the non-believers, Hull reiterated her stance in her post-round press conference and provided some more detail.
“I didn’t eat the ice cream. My boyfriend got it for my caddie,” Hull explained. “So I held it for a minute when he was putting my club in the bag.”
Whoever ate it, it’s hard to argue with the results. Whether due to coincidence or some undiscovered ice-cream magic, Hull and Woodward’s fortunes took a miraculous turn for the better after the ice cream’s arrival.
Hull opened her round with a bogey and had fallen to two over through six. By the time they reached the 15th hole on Thursday, she’d fought back to one under. Just four holes later, Hull finished out at five under for the day.
Her closing run started with a birdie at 15, immediately following the ice cream delivery. She added a second straight birdie at 16, pushing her score to three under. Then at 18, Hull earned an emphatic eagle to launch herself into contention.
Even she suggested the ice cream had something to do with it after the round.
“I kind of fought back, and then I ended pretty good. I felt quite good. I think it was the ice cream that my caddie had on the 15th hole,” Hull joked. “It’s not shy kids don’t get sweets, it’s shy caddies don’t get ice cream.”
While Hull denies she ate the ice cream on Thursday at the Evian, she did admit food was often on her mind, explaining her rigorous eating routine during competitive rounds.
“I ate — I eat every two holes, so I ate just a bite of my bar every two holes and then I had another special bar that I ate over two holes, and then I had this juice thing that I sipped over a couple holes and then I had a banana as well,” Hull explained. “Yeah, I just drink loads of water on every hole and have loads of electrolytes. I think the key is to eat. Like I always eat every other hole. So I eat on the third, the fifth, and the seventh, and then just every hole in pretty much.”
Even that wasn’t enough to satisfy the aspiring major winner.
“But I’m pretty starving guys and I got to get physio,” Hull told reporters to end her press conference, “so I’m going to shoot off.”
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