ST ANDREWS, Scotland — There are few tournaments Charley Hull wants to win more than the AIG Women’s Open. And through one round at the Old Course at St Andrews, she has put herself in quite the spot to do just that at the Home of Golf.
Hull put on a show early in Scotland, carding a near-perfect, 5-under 67 in chilly, windy conditions on day one of the fifth and final major of the 2024 LPGA Tour season.
The 28-year-old got off to a quiet start, parring her first four holes of the round before picking up her first birdie of the day on the par-5 5th hole. Hull erased that effort with a bogey on eight, but she then birdied the par-4 9th hole to turn in 35 at 1-under.
She made another birdie on 10 and chalked up another on the par-4 12th hole, now at 3-under with six holes to play at the Old Course. Hull added another birdie to her tally on 15 and then nearly holed out her second shot on the iconic par-4 18th hole, cleaning up the short putt for birdie, much to the delight of the Scottish crowds and posting her lowest first-round score since she carded a 67 on day one of the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G last season.
“It was loads of fun out there today,” Hull said. “Actually, before my round, I was in there watching it on the TV when I saw the scores, and I thought, how is she 4-under par? That was an unbelievable score. I'd take that now because it was gusting a lot on the range, and I said to my coach, it 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 was grouped with Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu in the first round and will play with the Nos. 1 and 2 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings again on Friday. The threesome was a combined 12-under on day one, and Hull felt like the three fed off of each other throughout the day at the Old Course, a sentiment with which her groupmates agreed after finishing play on Thursday evening.
“I love playing with them two girls,” said Hull. “Nelly is an unbelievable ball striker. Lilia is a great putter. You just know, even when they're making some bogeys, you think the whole field is finding this tricky, so you just keep in the moment. They're two quick players, as well, so I enjoy that.”
The Englishwoman finished runner-up to Vu at last year’s AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath Golf Club, a six-shot loss that stung a bit for the local favorite but that has clearly motivated her even more to win what could be considered the closest event she has to a national open on the LPGA Tour. The solo second is her best finish in her 12 previous starts in this major championship, but Hull also has five other top-25 results on her AIG Women’s Open resume.
Despite her English heritage and her strong past performances at both this major championship and the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open, Hull has admitted that links golf doesn’t really suit her as well as the tight, tree-lined fairways typically found on parkland layouts.
But she appears to have figured out how to dance with the devil in recent weeks, finishing solo fifth last week at Dundonald Links and starting strong in some of the worst conditions many of the 144-player field said they have ever played in at an AIG Women’s Open or otherwise.
Hull says the key has been patience, something she will continue to put a premium on as she prepares to tackle three more rounds of difficult golf at one of the most storied venues in the game.
“You've just got to be patient. You know what it's going to be like before the beginning of the round, so you just mentally prepare for that before,” said Hull. “I'm happy with (a 67), and I'm just looking forward to going out tomorrow and being patient again. I've always been patient out there, and I hit some great, great shots.”
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