English golfer Charley Hull has revealed she has recently been diagnosed with “severe” attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The 27-year-old said she took four weeks off earlier this year as she had been struggling mentally.
But after returning to action she finished in a tie for second place at last week’s US Women’s Open.
“I know my triggers now because I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD, quite severely,” she told BBC Radio Norfolk.
“I can understand now why sometimes I get bored on the golf course. I feel a lot better now.”
Last week’s performance on the iconic Pebble Beach course on the Californian coast equalled Hull’s previous best at a major.
It also came on the back of successive missed cuts, the latter coming at the second women’s major of the year, the Women’s PGA Championship.
“It’s the way I think,” Hull explained. “[It’s about] keeping my mind busy and being a bit more patient because I can be very impatient.
“I find it hard to concentrate, but I’ve found my triggers now, and looking at the views of the ocean last week was pretty good.
“I’ve actually been playing well since I won last year [at The Ascendant] but I missed a couple of cuts in my previous events. I just worked on my swing a bit and got my confidence back, and I feel like I’m swinging it well now.”
Hull hopes to carry her form into the last two majors of the year – the Evian Championship and the Women’s Open at Walton Heath – before making her sixth appearance at the Solheim Cup in September.
But first the world number 18, from Kettering, is set to play in this weekend’s Aramco Team Series event at Centurion in Hertfordshire.
“I’m pretty tired, I haven’t had much sleep because of the jetlag, but playing at home is always a priority,” she said.
“It’s not too far from my house either. It’s a lot of fun and my dad gets to come and watch as well.”