ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Charley Hull and Nelly Korda are two of the fastest women in the game. Yet in the opening round of the AIG Women’s British Open, they played the Old Course alongside defending champion Lilia Vu in six hours and eight minutes.
On a blustery day in St. Andrews the par-3 11th, the most exposed hole on the golf course, had as many as four groups waiting to play. Andrea Lee waited 45 minutes to hit her tee shot, sitting on her bag for 15 of them.
Hull took a bathroom break on the 11th tee and then went over to have a chat with her boyfriend and good friend James Northern, the mate she famously got Paula Creamer’s autograph for after beating her in Sunday singles at the 2013 Solheim Cup.
“It took ages,” said Hull. “I had a bet with my caddie. I said, ‘I reckon it’ll take six and a half’; he said, no way, he said, five hours (and) 30 (minutes). I was right.”
Hull, who prefers parkland golf to links, opened with a 5-under 67, nearly holing her approach on the par-4 18th for eagle, to take a one-shot lead over world No. 1 Korda and Ruoning Yin, who played in tougher conditions as one of the first groups out.
Six players – including Vu and Lee – opened with a 69 to take a share of fourth. A total of 17 players broke par, with the vast majority coming in the afternoon.
The morning wave saw winds consistently blow 30-35 mph, with gusts up to 39 mph. The winds reduced some as the day wore on, but pace of play was glacial as backing off the ball became routine.
It didn’t help that officials were forced to use a two-tee start due to the Paris Olympics moving back the championship by two weeks. That meant one less hour of daylight for the field of 156.
The last group to tee off No. 10 played the first four holes in two hours and 45 minutes.
When asked if rounds of more than six hours were acceptable at a major championship, Korda said “obviously not.”
“But with circumstances of the wind and then with it kind of intersecting between two holes, it’s kind of a given,” she said “I think we all knew that kind of playing the golf course for the first time on Monday.”
England’s Hull, who has yet to win a major championship, credited her longtime coach, Matt Belsham, for getting her prepared for this week by working on three-quarter shots, ball position and patience. She also played Turnberry with her boyfriend on Monday and finished fifth at the Scottish Open last week.
For Hull, who was unofficially diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) last summer, slow play has long been an enemy. She conquered all the hurdles in fine fashion on Thursday, delighting crowds along the way as she vaped down the fairways of the venerable course, her stylish aviators on to block out the wind.
“It was loads of fun out there today,” said Hull. “Actually, before my round I was in there watching it on the TV when I saw the scores, and I thought, how is (Yin) 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, 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.”
This marks the third time an LPGA major has ever been contested over the Old Course, with Lorena Ochoa (2007) and Stacy Lewis (2013) winning the first two.
