Is that all you've got, 2020?

CHARLEY HULL HAS ALWAYS BEEN A TENACIOUS COMPETITOR BUT AN UNFORGETTABLE YEAR HAS UNEARTHED EVEN DEEPER RESERVES AS THE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE STAR RETURNS TO A FAVOURITE HUNTING GROUND

- KENT GRAY

We’ve all been impacted by the coronavirus in some way but few headed to Dubai and King Abdullah Economic City for the Middle East’s Ladies European Tour triple-header have felt it as intensely as Charley Hull. The 24-year-old was in the final stages of her prep for September’s ANA Inspiration when she tested positive on the eve of the third women’s major of this crazy old year. Hull put it down to jet lag, the stifling California heat, and her asthma playing up. Indeed, she thought she might have already beaten the invisible enemy.

“I actually thought I’d already had it so I wasn’t really looking out for symptoms,” the Englishwoman revealed.

“I felt a bit flu-like on arrival in Palm Springs but I put it down to a long day of travel. I was pretty surprised when I tested positive as I’d been carrying on with my preparation for a major as normal.”

Hull reckons she got off lightly even if she described her two weeks in quarantine as “pretty brutal”.

“The recovery did take a little longer than I was expecting, not in a major way, but I did notice the tiredness and I also lost my taste for a while. It’s quite nice now knowing that I’ve had it, and I shouldn’t get it again, but I still need to be careful not to be a spreader. “

Welcome to the New World Order. The impacts of COVID-19, especially after a brush with the deadly virus, have Hull fizzing for the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic (Nov. 4-6) and the women’s week of golf at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, the $1 million Aramco Saudi Ladies International (Nov. 12-15) and $500,000 Saudi Ladies Team International (Nov. 17-19).