A giddy Colin Welland cried “The British are coming!” as he collected the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1982. The film he had penned, Chariots of Fire, would win another three categories as it stormed the 54th Academy Awards and I suspect that the proud and earthy sports fan Welland would not mind having his words pinched and used to celebrate the success of his nation’s female golfers on the LPGA Tour of late.

Two weeks ago Georgia Hall claimed her first win in America, the 24-year-old adding the Portland Classic to her triumph in the 2018 Women’s Open, then last week 33-year-old Mel Reid became a first-time LPGA winner with success in the ShopRite Classic, and whilst their stories may not quite be in the cinematic league of Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, they aren’t far off.

Hall might take the Abrahams role, less because she’s faced the specific prejudice he did (although by dint of being a woman she’ll have dealt with plenty), more because she’s remained driven and ambitious through adversity. A good example is when she had to turn down opportunities to play major championships as an amateur because her family couldn’t afford the vast expenses which came with such invitations. Instead, she stored the frustration away and used it as motivation for future success.

Reid’s tale has unlikely parallels with Liddell’s, comprising inner conflict, multiple tests of belief and the need to travel across the world to find fulfilment. It was religion which caused Liddell anguish, often fretting that he should be in China conducting missionary work rather than running in circles for fun and, what’s more, he refused to do that on Sundays, causing problems with authority. Reid has dealt with the turmoil of losing her mother, admitted to partying too much in response, but has ultimately remained steadfast through her trials, moving to Florida to overcome the difficulty she’s had performing on the LPGA and then standing firm when proudly coming out.

Unquestionably there is plenty for Britain to be proud of with these two golfers and with their peers too, because Charley Hull and Bronte Law both have American wins and fiery back stories of their own to tell. Can we expect more success for the Brits at this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship? Or, like my movie metaphor, has the run come to an end? Reid’s price has plummeted and Law is in a terrible run of form. I admire Hall’s ability to construct a major championship gameplan and stick to it, but her price, also, is a touch low. The test might suit Hull, but poor form and a recent encounter with Covid-19 add doubt. The Brits have arrived, then, but the picks are coming from elsewhere this week.

That said, first pick DANIELLE KANG has Englishman Olly Lewis on the bag, a combination that’s been working well for some time now. The 27-year-old Californian made her major championship breakthrough in this event in 2017, claiming victory at Olympia Fields and it was quite a shock, being her 32nd major start and first top-10 finish. Since then she’s continued to find the two European majors something of a mystery, but has added four finishes of T11th or better in seven majors in America.

The fact her win in this event came out of nowhere is something of a modern trend. She was preceded as champion by Brooke Henderson in 2016 and in the last two years Sung-Hyun Park and Hannah Green have lifted the trophy. All four had failed to finish in the top 40 in their previous start on tour and the quartet had also ended the week outside the top 30 in their previous major start.

If Kang wins this week, she’ll buck those patterns because she was T12th last time out in the Portland Classic and T11th a week before that in the ANA Inspiration. Multiple winners of the PGA are not uncommon however. In the 18 renewals before those last four Se Ri Pak, Annika Sorenstam and Inbee Park mopped up three apiece and Yani Tseng two.