“I think I’m too golf obsessed sometimes, I really am,” Hull said, expressing her personal struggle. “After a tournament, I let it affect my whole mood rather than just forgetting about it and just chilling with my friends and stuff. I kind of shy away from reality and just be like, go, go, go, go, go. I feel like I just got to put less pressure on myself, you know what I mean?”

Hull is currently ranked No. 8 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. She reached a career-high No. 3 in the rankings in February 2026 after winning the PIF Saudi Ladies International. The achievement also made her the highest-ranked English or British female golfer since the modern ranking system was introduced in 2006. Before that, Charley Hull climbed to No. 5 in September 2025 after her victory at the Kroger Queen City Championship.

In any case, whether these personal struggles are genuinely preventing Hull from dethroning Korda remains debatable. However, a comparison of their performances in 2026 clearly favours the American, whose consistency and ability to convert strong performances into victories have reinforced her position as the world’s No. 1. Korda averages 12.68 ranking points across 35 events, compared with Hull’s 5.58 across 40 events.

The difference is even more apparent when comparing their results this season. Korda has claimed four LPGA Tour victories, including two majors: the Chevron Championship, which she won by five strokes, and the U.S. Women’s Open, where she prevailed by one stroke over Hull and Gaby López. She has also recorded three runner-up finishes and 10 top-10s despite playing a relatively limited schedule of 15 events.

Hull, meanwhile, has remained competitive but has yet to match Korda’s winning form on the LPGA Tour in 2026. The Englishwoman finished runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Open, marking her fifth second-place finish in a major, and also recorded a T10 at the Chevron Championship and a T6 at the AIG Women’s Open. Her victory at the PIF Saudi Ladies International added to her success on the Ladies European Tour.

However, her LPGA campaign has featured fewer top-10 finishes, several missed cuts and an average finish around 16th or 17th. While Charley Hull has demonstrated that she can challenge the best, Korda’s superior record of victories and consistent contention helps explain the gap between them in the world rankings. Yet, these differences are to be expected. Even for Korda, holding on to the No. 1 spot hasn’t been easy.

Korda first reached the World No. 1 spot in June 2021, after winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She held the position for the rest of the year before South Korea’s Jin Young Ko reclaimed it. More recently, Korda returned to the top in April 2026, underlining just how difficult it is to reach and maintain that position. That said, while Hull works on her personal struggles, she is backing someone else to become the World No. 1.

“If I could play with anyone on the PGA Tour, it would be Michael because he is one of the most impressive golfers I’ve ever seen and he’s going to be a major winner,” she told Golfweek. “… I think he’s great for the game of golf,” she added, before declaring, “I see him definitely being a future world number one. Yeah, that’s how high I rate him, his golf game.”

Whether her prediction comes true remains to be seen, as does whether she can overcome the struggles standing in her own way.

The post ‘Too Golf Obsessed’: Charley Hull Identifies the Personal Struggle Standing Between Her and World No. 1 appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.