Charley Hull feeling 'normal,' but dealing with back injury

Charley Hull's expectations leading into this week's AIG Women's Open have been tempered by a back injury that has limited her preparation time.

Hull has recovered from the illness that led her to collapse on a tee box and withdrawal from the first round of the Evian Championship on July 10. But she already was dealing with a back injury she suffered while taking a box out of her car the week before.

The combination has limited Hull's gym and rehab time.

"My back's been really playing up and I've not been hitting it as well because I've not been able to go to the gym and do my rehab exercises," Hull told reporters on Wednesday.

"I'm not hitting it the best coming into this week which is very frustrating because it's an event I've been looking forward to playing all year. I've just got to go out there with what I've got."

Hull is No. 20 in the Rolex World Rankings, down from eighth earlier this year when she posted three consecutive finishes of 11th or better. After a string of modest results, Hull finished fourth at the KPMG Women's Irish Open before the back injury and having to withdraw at the Evian.

She did return to tie for 21st at last week's Scottish Open, and will be in a marquee group along with world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul and Minjee Lee for the first two rounds at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.

"At the end it's just a game of golf and you've got to go out there and have fun," Hull said. "I'm not going to let it beat me up too much. Apart from that, I feel pretty good."

Already one of the LPGA Tour's most popular players and with a massive social media following, Hull's popularity continues to rise following her cameo appearance in the movie "Happy Gilmore 2" released last week. But don't expect the Englishwoman to trade in her clubs for movie sets on a regular basis.

"It was quite a long day. It was good fun to be fair," she said. "It was pretty cool because I watched the first (Happy Gilmore) when I was a kid growing up. Never thought I'd be in a movie, but there you go.

"Definitely safe to say I couldn't be an actress. Just filming that scene all day, I haven't got the patience."

--Field Level Media