Australia’s best women golfers found the wind too challenging at the @AIGWomensOpen as world no.1 Nelly Korda was among those to show them the way.
On a day when Australia’s top women golfers may have found their AIG Women’s Open hopes gone with the wind at the home of golf, American world No.1 Nelly Korda was among the few showing them the way at St Andrews.
None of the seven-strong Australian contingent were able to fare better than Steph Kyriacou’s four-over par 76 on a blustery Thursday when gusts of up to 65kph ensured the Old Course bared its teeth.
It was a tough old day with golf balls wobbling on the tees and greens as the wind threatened to make the game almost unplayable at times. American star Rose Zhang reckoned she could barely stand up without losing balance.
So Karrie Webb, these days a part-time golf pro at 49 but still hopeful for one final impressive fling on the course she swears she’s never quite mastered, could be forgiven her 10-over 82, which put her joint-142nd among the 144 first-round starters.
But the Olympic captain’s major-winning successors and Paris charges didn’t fare a great deal better in the launch of their latest bids for glory as Minjee Lee (a six-over 78) and Hannah Green (five-over 77) were left with it all to do on the celebrated Scottish links.
Kyriacou, the 23-year-old Sydneysider, was best-placed Australian nine strokes off the lead held by British star Charley Hull, who delighted the home crowds with her five-under 67, a fabulous performance in challenging conditions.
Hull, who was also a contender in last year’s Open at Walton Heath, was a shot clear after playing partner Korda recorded three birdies in the last five holes for a 68.
“There’s something fun about playing in these conditions,” said Korda, adding: “Not that I would do it every single time!”
Her performance left Korda alongside China’s Yin Ruoning, the 2023 Women’s PGA champion who had earlier also shot a four-under round while everyone else appeared to be floundering amid the morning gusts.
There were two Lees – American Andrea Lee and South Korean Mi Hyang Lee – among the six-player logjam at three-under.
