Charley Hull and Lilia Vu played alongside Nelly Korda again on Friday and showed off for the crowds. Three of the most talented LPGA ladies battled the elements at St. Andrews, and so far, they hold the top 3 spots on the AIG Women’s Open leaderboard.
Hull posted an even par 72, and Vu moved up the leaderboard as she signed for a 2-under 70 for them both to sit at 5-under overall.
The Englishwoman had the crowd’s support at this hometown tournament. She battled her way back up the leaderboard after a rocky start. She made bogey on her opening hole, the par-4 10th. Hull dropped another shot at 14 to sit a 2-over at the turn.
The 28-year-old dropped to 3-over on the day with another bogey at No. 2, her 11th hole. After that, she birdied three of her final seven holes to finish even on the day.
Despite the scoring difference, Hull felt she played similarly to Thursday.
“I thought I hit it just as good as yesterday,” Hull said. “I missed three or four four-foot putts, but that was early on in my round. I thought the greens were a little bit slower. My putts earlier on were a bit wet on the green from where it was raining earlier, and it was skiddy, so it got in my head, but once I got over that, I fell back into my stroke, and it felt fine.”
There was rain at the beginning of the second round, but it did not last long. The wind picked up a little bit, but Hull did not adjust well to that on Friday.
As for Vu, she felt confident about her two days of golf. Her short game was one of the things that looked strong through 36 holes.
“I’m happiest with how I’ve been putting it to the hole,” Vu said. “I’m giving myself a lot of chances for birdie, and that’s what you need out here. That’s the toughest part, trying to play with the wind, not against it, and I’ve been trying to do that.”
Vu made one birdie and a bogey on her front nine, then added two birdies on the 7th and 9th to close the day. Picking up those two birdies in her last three holes seemed to be a huge confidence booster for the No. 2 player in the world.
I was already excited about the women’s Open at the Old Course and then Charley Hull posted this swing vid from the Road Hole
Can’t wait to watch. pic.twitter.com/1QFZugisDC
— Gabby Herzig (@GabbyHerzig) August 20, 2024
To compete alongside the world’s No. 1 player and play well was a big deal for Hull because it provided evidence that her game was in a good spot.
While she has yet to win a major championship, she knows three shots is nothing in the grand scheme of things, especially when 36 holes are left to play.
“That’s nothing going into the weekend, especially on this golf course,” Hull said. “I left a lot of putts out there. I think Nelly had 30 putts, and I had 36 putts. So that’s six putts I’ve lost to her on the greens.”
“I feel like I’m equally hitting it as good. She just holed a few more putts than me today. I think Lilia [Vu] is one to watch, as well, because when it gets windy, she sticks in there. She’s a good scrambler.”
The Kettering, England native was in a similar spot in last year’s Open but came up short of Vu. She is long overdue for her first major championship. It seems her confidence is higher this year as she proves to herself that she can do this.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
