Charley Hull ready to hunt down Women's Open leader after bouncing back from virus

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4 days ago

Having collapsed in alarming scenes in her last major, Charley Hull came out here on Saturday determined to give her Women's Open challenge some legs and with a swashbuckling 66 duly tore into the lead of Miyu Yamashita.
The Englishwoman is still three behind the Japanese pacesetter, but after starting the third round 11 strokes adrift and seemingly playing for the places, Hull is confident of pulling off her unlikely pursuit.
The 29-year-old is plainly in her element when she has something, or in this case, 'someone', to aim for.
'I just kind of enjoy chasing. It's quite fun,' Hull said, after reaching six-under. 'I like hunting someone down. I don't know why I enjoy it so much. I just like going out there and playing golf. It's like playing with your mates. You just want to make birdies on every hole. That's how it will be tomorrow. One hundred percent I'll be going for it. [Got] nothing to lose have I?'
Hull in this mood is irresistible to watch. She sets up, takes aim and then… boom... complete with that delicious recoil at the conclusion of the follow-through.
Of course, there are more consistent performers and that accounts for Hull's world ranking of 20 and the fact that this extraordinary talent has managed to extract only seven titles from a dozen years as a pro. Yet on her day, there is simply nobody better to watch as Dame Laura Davies highlighted. 'Every shot with Charley seems like an event in itself,' she said 'It's gripping to follow her around, as you don't know what's happening next.'
Even when she was wayward in this seven-birdie, one-bogey magnificence, Hull entertained. On the fourth, a wild slice almost hit three-time major champion Minjee Lee. The ball bounced over the head of the startled Australian, who was busy minding her own business on the 17th tee.
'I like Minjee,' Hull said. 'I really didn't want to take her out. But other than that and the 14th [where she failed to get up and down for her only blemish of the day] that was about it. But yeah, I made birdies when I gave myself an opportunity. More of the same tomorrow.'
Hull finished second in the Women's Open two years ago and with two other runner-up placings in the majors on her CV, she is probably due a big one. Yet, in truth, after her struggles at the Evian Championships last month, she is merely glad to be in some sort of contention going into the final round.
A virus in the build-up took its toll and she fainted twice in the first round before being rushed back to the clubhouse and immediately hooked up to an IV drip. Hull lost almost a stone in the aftermath – and she does not have a stone to lose – and has calculated that she is hitting it 10 yards shorter with her driver. It genuinely is a triumph for her to be in this position. She began her round in a tie for 28th and by nightfall she was tied fourth.
It is a congested scoreboard. At the start of the day, there had been only one player within six shots of Yamashita – her compatriot Rio Takeda, who is alongside Hull on six-under following a 74 – but now there are 17. Yamashita's 74 – which, it should be pointed out, was compiled in the far trickier conditions as the gusts increased during the afternoon – has opened up the tournament and turned what many had been suspecting was a procession into a potential stampede.
Korean AL Kim – the 2020 US Women's Open champion – is one behind after a 67, with American Andrea Lee in third after posting the same number. Another Englishwoman in Georgia Hall – the 2018 winner – is not out of it on four-under following a 68 and Lottie Woad, the pre-tournament favourite, has an outside hope, one behind on three-under after a 71.
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