Fan favorite Charley Hull tapped in a birdie on the 18th hole and jumped to the top of the leaderboard at the Women’s Open in challenging conditions on Thursday at the St. Andrews Old Course in Scotland.
Bitter cold and blustery winds knocked scoring down at St. Andrews but China’s Ruoning Yin stood strong with seven birdies for a first-round 68 to claim the short-lived lead before Hull’s final putt shifted her to second place.
Hull said she watched during her warmup anticipating officials would postpone the rest of the round because of the conditions. When the horn didn’t sound, the Englishwoman stopped marveling at Yin’s 4-under round and went after a low score of her own.
“It was gusting a lot on the range, and I said to my coach, ‘Feels like they could call it at any minute because I don’t know how the balls are staying on the greens.’ To go out there, shoot 5-under, play pretty solid, it was a lot of fun,” Hull said.
Seeking her first win in a major, Hull’s approach on the final hole skipped just past the pin and she tapped in for an opening-round 67 moments after World No. 1 Nelly Korda made her third birdie in five holes for a 68.
Hull, 28, finished second in the 2023 Women’s British Open and tied for second at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open. The majority of the gallery on the course late Thursday evening gathered to celebrate Hull’s finish.
“I’m obviously on home soil, so it’s great to see people out there. Got a long way to go, but I’m just going to enjoy every minute of it,” she said.
Yin, who finished tied for 61st in her debut Open last year, played in the most difficult conditions among the leaders.
“I just tried to play with the wind. I know it’s tough conditions, you just have to have a better attitude,” said Yin, the 2023 Women’s PGA Championship winner. “I was talking to my coach, we both think if we can just go 1-under every day, that will leave me a good position. I was 6-under at some point today.”
Only 17 players were under par when the first round was postponed due to darkness. The average round completed Thursday lasted just under six hours. Yin completed her first ever competitive round at St. Andrews Old Course and said the memories will be special regardless how the next three days go.
Defending champion Lilia Vu’s 15-foot birdie putt curled short of the hole, leaving her a tap-in short of the lowest opening-round by a defending champion at the Open since 2004.
She sits in a group two shots off the lead along with Jenny Shinn, Andrea Lee, Mi Hyang Lee and Patty Tavatanakit.
“Today was all about staying super-patient. I knew the winds were up. I was just trying to play really smart. Par was a really good score,” Andrea Lee said.
Course-side wind readings topped 40 mph and reached a nearly unplayable 50 mph on Thursday morning. Wind gusts quieted late Thursday but not all golfers completed the first round and rain is in the forecast Friday.
“I think the most difficult part was trying to maintain my balance over the ball. Just trying to stabilize. The wind was just going to move you in all directions.”
Korda, wearing a scarf and stocking cap most of the round, left short a birdie try on the 15th but reached the green in two at the last to finish birdie-birdie.
Korda’s six-hour round included a 30-minute wait at No. 11.
“There was a lot of waiting on that back nine,” Korda said. “The front nine was kind of flowing a good bit. Obviously in the tough conditions you have people stepping off and the flow to the round is a little slower, but you’re kind of expecting that. But then once we hit the 11th tee box, it was just full-on breaks.”
Olympic gold medalist Lydia Ko finished 1 under, four off the lead, and said walking off the course “all you can do is really laugh, it’s so windy” even good shots can be wrecked.
“It’s even hard to putt. It was difficult. I knew it was going to be a challenge,” Ko said.
–Field Level Media
