Charley Hull fired a five-under par 67 to obtain the outright lead after the first round of the Women’s Open at St Andrews.
The English star went out to tackle the Old Course in the afternoon wave alongside world number one Nelly Korda and defending champion Lilia Vu.
Hull rolled in her first birdie of the day on the fifth, which was cancelled out with a bogey on the par-3 eighth, however she was soon under par again with a birdie on the ninth.
The three-time LET winner then had a great back nine as she made birdies on 10, 12, 15 and 18 to take the outright lead in the final major of the year.
“It was loads of fun out there today,” said Hull, who finished fifth at last week’s Scottish Open. “Before my round I was watching it on the TV and when I saw the scores I thought how is Ruoning [Yin] four-under par in those conditions? That was an unbelievable score. I said I’d take that now because it was gusting a lot on the range. So to go out there and shoot 5-under, and play pretty solidly, was a lot of fun.”
China’s Ruoning Yin and American Korda sit one shot behind the leader after they produced matching 68s on the opening day at the Old Course.
Korda, who was playing alongside leader Hull, also had a good day with two birdies and one bogey on her front nine. The world number one then rolled in three birdies in her final five holes to climb up to a share of second place alongside Yin.
“It was good,” said Korda. “It was windy, especially at the start to the middle, but the last three or four holes it died down and I was able to be a little bit more aggressive. Overall, I think our group had a very good day. There’s something fun about playing in these conditions too. Not that I would do it every single time, but it’s just there’s like a different creative side to it, which I enjoy.”
Six players are in a share of fourth place, with Korean duo Jenny Shin and Mi Hyang Lee, American pair Andrea Lee and Lilia Vu, Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit and Japan’s Mao Saigo all on three-under.
For all the latest scores from the AIG Women’s Open , click here
