Charlie Hull won the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews on Thursday afternoon, firing an incredible five-under 67 to take the lead by one stroke.
The Briton will pick up where she left off at last year’s AIG Women’s Open, where she finished runner-up to Lilia Vu.
she 6 Birdies Hull finished the day at 1 under par with one bogey. He turned in 1 under par and then got better, earning birdies on the 10th, 12th, 15th and 18th holes.
Hull was seen enjoying the spectacular golf course, playing a spectacular round, donning aviator sunglasses and smoking an e-cigarette, attracting attention.
“Yeah, I had a lot of fun today,” Hull said. “Actually, I saw the scores on TV before my round and I thought, how is she four under par? It was an unbelievable score.”
“There was a lot of wind gusts on the range so I think I could finish with that score. I told my coach I couldn’t tell how the ball was going to stay on the green so I could get called off at any time. But I shot 5 under par on the range and played pretty solidly and had a lot of fun.”
Winds gusting up to 40 mph were a major concern ahead of Thursday’s round, but the R&A did a good job preparing the course to avoid any suspension of play. Hal got lucky and it only felt like the wind died down towards the end.
“I think the last three holes were a little easier,” she said. “The wind was down, but it was really strong when I made the turn, especially when I stopped on the 11th hole. It was really cold there too.”
Hull is not normally a links golfer, but he has been preparing for this tournament with his coach for several weeks.
“I’ve been working hard over the last few weeks so he’s been getting me ready and working on my three-quarter shot,” Hull explained. “After the Olympics I went down to Turnberry and played with my boyfriend which was fun and got me ready for links golf. I played well in the Scottish Open last week, came fifth and mentally I’m starting to like it.”
The biggest change has been her three-quarter shot and patience.
“Sometimes the wind is blowing hard from the left and it might sound silly to aim 50 yards left, but that’s the right way to do it and you just have to trust your line and your caddie,” she said.
Hull played alongside world No. 1 Nelly Korda and Vu, who shot a four-under 68 and three-under 69, respectively.
Photo: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images
This group was one of the best pairs in the entire event and did not disappoint, with Hull playing better than both of them and stating that it felt good to perform like this against two of the best players in the world.
“It’s fun playing with those two girls,” Hull said. “Nelly is an incredible ball-striker and Lilia is a great putter. Even when they’re making bogeys, you’re so focused in the moment because I think the whole field is finding this hard. They’re both fast players, so it’s fun. It’s just fun.”
They will play together again in Friday’s round, teeing off on the 10th hole at 3:55 a.m. ET.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Her Instagram account is @golf_girl_sl.
