'Borderline' hole locations as Charley Hull and Georgia Hall suffer Dundonald disasters

Charley Hull, the world No 7, turned a 15-foot birdie putt at a downwind par 5 into a quadruple-bogey 9 as “borderline” pin positions and blowy conditions caused carnage in the first round of the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links.

On a day when Georgia Hall, the 2018 AIG Women’s Open champion, had a 10 on her card and world No 7 Minjee Lee slumped to an 85, Hull’s horror hole came at the long fifth on the exposed Ayrshire course.

Charley Hull watches a putt during the first round of the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire | IMG

Playing in the same group as world No 1 Nelly Korda and defending champion Lottie Woad, the English player definitely over-hit her birdie putt, yet didn’t deserve what followed after it ran down a steep bank at the back of the green.

She failed with three chips to get back on the putting surface, seeing the ball come back to her feet on each occasion, before almost holing the fourth attempt then knocking in a putt that wasn’t too far away from where her escapade had started.

The damaging hole left Hull, one of the pre-tournament favourites for the $2 million event, having to settle for a six–over-par 78 - 12 shots off the lead, shared by American Lauren Coughlin, the 2024 winner, and Korea’s Jenny Shin.

Though Hull left the recorder’s area by a backdoor as reporters waited outside, she later issued a comment through her agent, Vicky Cumming. It said: “There were certainly some challenging pin positions today, but that’s golf and tomorrow is another day!”

On a course playing very different to the one for The Open Final Qualifying just over three weeks ago following a dry and hot spell, some of the hole locations quickly became a talking point in a field featuring seven of the top ten in the world rankings.

Referring to the one at the fifth, Woad, who bounced back from taking a 7 at the par-5 third to sign for a 74, said: “That pin was right at the back and there was also a fall off right behind it. It was probably a bit too close with the wind we had. Some of the pins, certainly on the front nine, you thought ‘I don’t know why it is here with this wind’. Yeah, there were a few borderline ones.”

Pauli Van Meesbergen, the LET’s tournament director, admitted that particular hole location had been a “tricky one” when the course set up was determined. He pointed out, though, that it was playing at the third easiest hole on the Kyle Phillips-designed course.

Georgia Hall, the 2018 AIG Women’s Open champion, had a 10 on her first-round card at windy Dundonald Links | IMG

In her first outing on the LPGA since becoming a mum and gearing up for a return to Royal Lytham & St Annes next week for the AIG Women’s Open, which she won there in 2018, Hall’s 10 at the par-5 14th included a lost ball and a penalty drop from a gorse bush. “I don’t think I’ve actually ever had a 10 before - one that I can remember anyway. So a nice welcome back!” she declared.

On Wednesday, Hall had talked about Catriona Matthew, who famously won the AIG Women’s Open at Lytham just 11 weeks after giving birth to her second daughter, offering advice about how bad shots are inevitable as she works her way back into competitive golf again.

“Exactly,” she said, adopting a philosophical attitude. “I didn’t play as badly as my score suggests. It’s a new day tomorrow and I will try and get it together and look to improve for next week.”

After being out in 40 before starting birdie-birdie coming home, Hannah Darling signed for a 75, three shots better than fellow Scot Gemma Dryburgh, who had three 6s on her card.