Stardust at St Andrews

Great sportspeople are often inspired by their equally talented peers.

This was certainly the case on the opening day of the 2024 AIG Women’s Open at a bright and blustery St Andrews.

The powerhouse grouping of defending Champion Lilia Vu, world number one Nelly Korda and last season’s runner-up Charley Hull put on an exhibition of links golf, wowing the galleries with exquisite shot-making and consummate control of the greens.

Hull birdied 18 to take the overnight lead, one stroke clear of Korda and long-time leader Ruoning Yin. Vu finished just one stroke further back.

And each of the blockbuster trio admitted they had been enriched by the presence of their elite playing partners.

Hull said: “I love playing with them two girls. Nelly is an unbelievable ball striker, Lilia is a great putter.

“They're two quick players, as well, so I enjoy that. It was loads of fun out there today.”

Korda, who won the Chevron Championship – the first major of the year – in April, agreed with Hull’s sentiment.

She said: “Overall I think our group had a very good day. When you're all kind of playing well, the momentum is kind of up.

“Charley and Lilia played really great, and I think overall we had a really good day, and hopefully the crowd enjoyed it as much as we did.”

Vu concurred: “Everyone is so solid in this group. It was definitely a lot of fun, and I can't wait for tomorrow.”

Hull, Korda and Vu finished day one on a combined tally of 12-under-par. No other group managed better than one-under.

Hull was patient throughout, backing off whenever the hefty Fife crosswinds picked up, and reached the turn in a low-key one-under-par.

As conditions calmed later in the day, the 28-year-old picked up the pace, sinking four birdies on the back nine to claim the overnight lead.

Hull said: “Before my round I was 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 said to my coach [Matt Belsham], ‘[It] feels like they could call it [off] 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.”

She continued: “I'm happy with that score, and I'm just looking forward to going out tomorrow and being patient again. I hit some great, great shots.”

Korda also reached the turn in 35 but birdied three of the last five holes – including the notoriously difficult 17th – to make her considerable presence felt.

On the eve of the Championship, the American had voiced concerns over her ability to cope with the cold weather.

But armed with a woolly hat and chunky mittens, the 26-year-old wrapped up against the wind and even indulged in some blood-pumping star jumps while she waited for her partners to play.

And she was proud of the way she handled conditions.

She said: “I really just try to stay present. I already know going into the round that the weather is not going to be good and it's going to be slow out there.

“Today I just tried to stay really present and to have a good attitude with the weather that we had.”