Hull is shaken and stirred as she revels in Woburn’s home comforts
THE stomach churning sensation of the first-tee jitters can be felt across the entire golfing spectrum, whether it is the world’s best in the richest showpiece occasions or wee Billy at the Captains & Secretaries Stableford, as hands quiver like Shakin’ Stevens operating a pneumatic drill.
While most of us crude amateurs tend to be overwhelmed by these tingles of trepidation and proceed to unleash a calamitous thrash of appalling barbarism, the true pros know how to channel that nervous energy into a purposeful, profitable performance.
Then again, Rory McIlroy’s heebiejeebies on the first tee at Portrush during The Open in Portrush led to a chaotic eight. For Woburn member Charley Hull, meanwhile, there would be no such catastrophe in her own backyard.
“My hands were shaking, but to be fair some of my best shots have come when my hands have been shaking,” admitted Hull, who thrived under the weight of local expectations at Woburn to post a five-under 67 in round one of the AIG Women’s British Open.
While South African’s Ashleigh Buhai made a decisive burst for the line and birdied three of her last five holes to lead by one on 65, Hull, who has been a member here since the age of nine, was handily placed to pounce heading into round two.
Three years ago, amid much hype and hysteria, Hull’s Woburn homecoming was something of a testing, trying affair even though she did manage a top-20 finish.
Of the three courses in this leafy sprawl, the Marquess layout, which they used in 2016 and are using again this week, is not her favourite but it is playing over 300 yards longer than it did the last time it hosted the Women’s Open and that has played into the hands of the powerful Hull.
“I’ve handled everything much better this year, I’m less nervous and I really like what they’ve done with the course,” said the 23-year-old, who bolstered her push for a maiden major title with three birdies in a row from the 10th.
“On the 18th, for instance I was hitting a 9-iron the last time [in 2016] but this week it’s a 5-iron.”
That particular 5-iron worked a treat on the last yesterday as she cracked a delightfully flighted approach from around 180 yards into 18-feet and holed the birdie putt to finish with a flourish.
“I’m not thinking about winning, I’m just thinking about a nap in the afternoon,” she added in the the immediate aftermath of her opening round.
Buhai, a three-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, finished one ahead of Danielle Kang and Hinako Shibuno while Jin Young Ko’s bid for back-to-back majors following her Evian Championship triumph last weekend, got off to a good start with a 68.
That left her on the same mark as Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, the champion at Woburn in 2016.
Georgia Hall, the winner at Lytham a year ago, made a sturdy start to her title defence with a tidy, three-birdie 69 but the grande dame of women’s golf, Laura Davies, endured a day to forget as the 55-year-old trudged in with an 82 that was strewn with debris.