Charley Hull fired a five-under par 67 to take the lead after the first round of the Women’s Open at St Andrews.
The England star took to the Old Course in the afternoon wave alongside world number one Nelly Korda and defending champion Lilia Vu.
Hull rolled his first birdie of the day on the fifth, which was canceled out by a bogey on the par-3 eighth, however he soon made par again with a birdie on the ninth.
The three-time LET winner then had a lucky nine as he birdied the 10th, 12th, 15th and 18th to take an outright lead heading into the final rounds of the year.
“It was a lot of fun today,” said Hull, who finished fifth at the Scottish Open last week. “Before my round I was watching it on TV and when I saw the scores I thought about how Ruoning is doing [Yin] four-under-par in those conditions? That was an incredible score. I thought I would take that one now because it was so intense. So to go out there and shoot 5-under, and play solid, it was great. “
China’s Ruoning Yin and American Korda sit just behind the leader after producing 68s on the opening day at the Old Course.
Korda, who played with leader Hull, also had a good day with two birdies and one bogey on his front nine. The world number one then birdied three of his final five holes to climb into second place alongside Yin.
“It was good,” said Korda. “It was windy, especially early to middle, but the last three or four holes died and I was able to get aggressive. Overall, I think our team had a great day. There is something fun about playing in these situations as well. Not that I would do it all the time, but it’s just like a different side to it, which I enjoy. “
Six players are in fourth place, with Korean pair Jenny Shin and Mi Hyang Lee, American pair Andrea Lee and Lilia Vu, Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit and Japan’s Mao Saigo all three under.
For all the latest scores from the AIG Women’s Open, click here
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