RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Golf correspondent at Royal Lytham and St Annes Published 1 hour ago Charley Hull began the week of the final golf major of the year by convincing her caddie Adam Woodward he had won a lottery prize worth £100,000.
Unfortunately for Woodward, Hull had bought the ticket in a Blackpool joke shop. The only way he can really hit the jackpot is if his boss breaks her major duck at this week's AIG Women's Open.
"He was like, 'I've never won one of these things, but today could be my lucky day','" Hull told BBC Sport. "And he was scratching it, scratching it, scratching it, and then his face dropped.
"'Oh my god,' he said. 'I've won 100 grand. I've won 100 grand.' He takes his hat off. He takes his glasses off. He's got sweat dripping down, he's shaking, he's so excited."
"I think he nearly quit the job then," the 30-year-old said. "I felt really bad."
Korda & Hull seek major glory - Women's Open tee times
Were Hull to go one better than her five major runners-up finishes, she would continue a remarkable storyline of British success in this event when staged here at Royal Lytham and St Annes.
Scotland's Catriona Matthew was champion in 2009 and nine years later England's Georgia Hall triumphed over the famed Lancashire links.
Hull and world number five Lottie Woad are among the favourites for this, the last of the year's five majors. Unlike Blackpool's lottery tickets, the hope of maintaining Lytham's habit of identifying UK champions is real.
"Frustrating, very frustrating," Hull says of her major career to date. "I feel like people can add a bit of pressure on you sometimes as well because I am human at the end of the day."
World number one Nelly Korda held off Hull's charge at June's US Open for what proved yet another near-miss in the tournaments that matter most.
Although she ultimately came up short at Riviera, the British star did hole putts on the closing holes that might have been enough for victory. They showed she has what it takes to win a major.
"If you look at the putt on 17 I had to hole and then on 18," she recalled. "And on that 18th hole, I hit a lovely, lovely, shot into the green. It was a pitching wedge that went over 175 yards.
"It was such a good shot in, and then the chip, and then I holed the putt, so I have got grit. It was just Nelly played well that week."
A year ago Hull shot a three-under-par final round at Royal Porthcawl to finish in a share of second place, two shots behind Miyu Yamshita.
The pain of that defeat became acute this week when Hull saw the posters depicting past champions on her way to Lytham.
"It'd just be great to think that one day when I do, if I do win the major, I will be able to sleep at night," Hull said.
The world number seven won the Saudi Ladies International early in the year, but admits the rest of her season has been a mixed bag. Her share of second place at the US Open is the highlight to date.
Hull has battled injury niggles and admits this week will be a tough mental test despite expected fervent home support.
"You feel like you let everyone down if you don't quite play well," she said.
"But at the end of the day, it's just life. You're not going to die if you hit a bad shot. I just go out there and have fun."
There is less pressure on British number one Woad, playing this event for only the third time. She posted top 10s in her previous attempts, the first of which was as an amateur.
Woad proved her links credentials with a commanding victory at last year's Scottish Open in her professional debut.
This week's championship will be another exacting test of seaside golf on a classically bunker-strewn course.
Even though she finished in a lowly share of 37th in last week's Scottish title defence, Farnham's Woad feels better prepared for the Lytham challenge.
"Last year, Dundonald was very soft," Woad told BBC Sport. "It wasn't quite links golf, but this year it very much was. So I'm feeling a lot more [prepared] in that aspect.
"Just seeing those knockdown shots and seeing how much it's going to run. And there are a lot of bunkers. So you've just got to try and miss all of them and there are a lot off the tee."
After exactly a year in the paid ranks, the 22-year-old is already ranked fifth in the world with two pro wins to her name. The most recent came in May at the LPGA's Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati.
She won by two shots from Haeran Ryu, the Korean who has won the last two majors - the KPMG PGA and then the Evian Championship, where Woad held the halfway lead, earlier this month.
Ryu claims second major of season at Evian Championship
She says the biggest lesson she has learned is not to be too hard on herself. This is a sport where every player loses tournaments more often than they win.
"Definitely I've learned a lot," said Woad. "Obviously from losing the play-off but having my first lead in a major too.
"I think it's quite easy to get frustrated and down yourself. You're playing every week and obviously all expectations are to try and win and pretty much every week you're not."
Still in the very early stages of her career, there are similarities between Woad and Hall, who was also 22 when she won this title here.
"I watched it on TV and she was always one of the players I looked up to when I was younger," Woad said.
"If I could do what she did here, then I'll definitely be happy with that."
There is plenty to potentially excite home galleries this week - and should either Woad or Hull emerge with the trophy, those fans will know they have held a ticket of genuine value.
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