The LPGA dream is coming true. But Charley Hull must do his part first
The late NBA commissioner David Stern called it “a blessing.” When Stern took over the NBA in 1984, the league was in dire straits, struggling to find a place on national television and trying to establish itself. While it was Stern's ambition and innovative business sense that was credited with propelling the NBA into its global future, that would not have been possible without two key figures: Bird and Magic. What Stern understood was that, to grab attention and demand eyeballs, star power – and competitors in particular – sells.
To Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, Stern had two stars: one a stoic trash-talker and the other a benevolent rival. The fact that the two had already locked horns in college was a bonus. Stern directed the NBA's marketing arm to depend on each competition, promoting games like Bird and the Celtics or Magic's Lakers instead of, simply, Lakers vs. Celtics. That decision and the subsequent arrival of Michael Jordan took the NBA from a make-believe, tape-delayed league to the superpower it is today. Twenty years after the rivalry changed the NBA, professional golf got its revolution courtesy of Tiger Woods. Woods' extreme talent was enough to reshape the conversation around professional golf itself, but the addition of Phil Mickelson, a diametric competitor, helped usher in a new audience to the PGA Tour as fans flocked to see if Woods, the killer robot, could make history and if the dangerous and charismatic Mickelson could be the right foil for greatness.
All of which leads us to the LPGA and this year's US Women's Open at Riviera Country Club. When Nelly Korda sank a three-foot putt to win the biggest title in women's golf and capture her second straight championship, the LPGA began a “sinister strategy” to promote the game's biggest star. As the LPGA hunts for its heyday, as the WNBA and women's soccer have achieved in recent years, the first step was to have a star pull down her talent, her career and her attention-seeking personality. Korda's impressive start to the season, coming on the heels of a 2025 winless streak, was a gift that new LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler could only have dreamed of when he took the job last summer. Eight months into the gig, he had it. That was step 1.
But if you looked closely at Korda's victory in the Riviera, if you peeled back the layers, you could see a bigger dream behind it.
That weekend, Charley Hull put together a 36-hole run of “F— it!” golf and pushed Korda as World No. 1 is looking for the success of the dream. In the end, Hull came up with one shot at a potential playoff spot, setting up its fifth straight home run.
“It's frustrating. Another second place. I think that's second in the top five I've had in the majors now,” Hull said that night in Los Angeles, his charismatic personality shining through even in defeat. “It's really frustrating, but I played really well on the last day. Obviously I missed a few putts on the back nine, but it was really windy, and I hit a nice ball, good play to Nelly Korda for a straight win.
“I love playing in the majors. Like I'm just standing up for the majors. It's really amazing that I love playing in the majors. Like a normal week I struggle sometimes to get motivated. But when it comes to the important weeks, I just love it. Like even on the weekend I can't charge too much. But then, it's not there.”
No doubt the LPGA loved it too. The league is full of exciting young talent with dynamic players, but there is no question that the two top names in the marquee are Korda and Hull. The conversation in each speech begins with them. It's no coincidence that when Kessler spoke about creating world stars at CME in November, he specifically mentioned Korda and Hull and how what they're doing both on and off the course fits the LPGA's vision.
A legitimate rivalry between polar-opposite superstars is a precious thing in sports. It's a natural thing that can't be manufactured or bought, only enhanced by proper marketing and willing participants. At Korda, the LPGA has a strong selection of golf courses with textbook swing and a strong attitude. At Hull, they have a freewheeling, gas-pedal-down star with a brilliant personality. We both have oil and water.
The Nelly-Charley rivalry would clearly be a valuable gift to the LPGA. The 2024 Solheim Cup, where Hull dominated Korda in singles but the US won, gave us a glimpse of what that might look like. But we are not there yet. There is another step.
“I don't see it as a rivalry right now, because, no offense, Nelly has a lot of big titles, and I don't,” Hull said Tuesday ahead of the AIG Women's Open. “I have five second places. So let me put my best first, and then that's something we can think about in the future. But listen, what Nelly is doing in the game of golf is unbelievable and it's great to watch … But I want to cross the line and win my first title. Five second place finishes in big games like pain.”
Korda knows as well as anyone that Hull's big moment could come soon, as long as he keeps knocking; finally the door opens.
“It's about putting yourself in that position,” Korda said of missing out on Hull. “You can't control what other people do, but he's doing the right thing to stay there and be relevant, to be in the hunt. It's like Sam Burns. He's been hunted a lot during the big tournament; he hasn't done it. He'll do it eventually. You can't be discouraged; it's got to be encouraging.”
Much like when Tiger raced to an eight-hole lead over Mickelson, there is no doubt yet in this optimistic narrative. Competitors need ebbs and flows to exist and grow. You can try and make it happen, but if a person is a hammer and nail forever, it will fail to take root.
This week's Women's Open at Royal Lytham and St. Anne's is an opportunity for the vision of the LPGA dream to begin to shine. Last year, at Royal Portcawl, Hull, as he did at the Riviera, tore through the weekend to increase the leaderboard and enter the door of his maiden major title. In the end, he narrowed, and Miyu Yamashita took the title. Reminders of that close call are everywhere this week for Hull, which only adds to his massive motivation.
“I remember looking at the face [of past champions] going in on the first day since last year and stuff, i was like, oh, i wish that was me,” Hull said.
Hull can erase that bad taste with four great days of proper links golf at Lytham. Korda, who has been cool since the start of the season, will once again look to highlight his year with a third major and a ticket to the LPGA Hall of Fame. It's easy to conjure up the LPGA's dream scenario in your head: Sunday's battle between two of the game's biggest players on the sought-after links test — giving the LPGA a narrative that could launch it into the kind of bold future Kessler preached.
The “blessing” of the LPGA itself sits on the horizon just beyond plain sight. It may be close, but something has to happen before the big picture becomes a reality.
Charley Hull must fulfill his dream first.
