CHANDLER, Ariz. — Charley Hull ended her lengthy and lively day with none blood seeping by her sock, solely a bogey-free card of 9-under 63 that gave her a one-shot lead over Nanna Koerstz Madsen within the opening spherical Thursday on the Ford Championship.
Nelly Korda, returning to match play after skipping the Asia swing, rallied with 4 birdies on the again 9 and opened with a 67 in her bid to catch Hull, who has been as entertaining as ever.
The important thing to Hull’s spherical at Whirlwind Golf Membership was her driver, and she or he wasn’t even certain what to anticipate. She tweaked the membership early within the week and had a TaylorMade official work on it.
“And I actually, actually, actually hit it nicely immediately,” Hull stated. “I felt like that put me in lots of good positions. I putted fairly nicely. I chipped fairly nicely. I hit it fairly nicely with my iron photographs.”
Hull was enjoying so nicely that she thought extra in regards to the 4 birdie putts that she narrowly missed as a substitute of the 9 that she made, together with one stretch of 5 birdies in six holes across the flip.
Koerstz Madsen additionally had 9 birdies, offset by one bogey on the par-5 fifth. Certainly one of her birdies was a bonus, a bunker shot on the tenth gap that she felt would have gone 8 toes by the outlet besides that it hit the pin and dropped for a shock birdie.
Brooke Henderson and Sei Younger Kim had been amongst eight gamers at 65 on a day of low scoring. The important thing was getting the ball within the fairway to deal with agency greens.
Hull had fairly the day. She awoke at 2 a.m. to name her household in England, after which headed to the health club at 4 a.m. and ran 4.4 miles on the treadmill.
She is huge on health lately. The largest purpose that she has set for 2025 has nothing to do with golf, relatively her bid to run a 5K in below 20 minutes. Hull went so exhausting at it earlier within the week that she observed blood from her toe oozing by her sock.
She additionally made a $10,000 wager with fellow professional Ryan Evans that she is going to stop smoking.
All appears to be going nicely, particularly on the golf course. She was not often out of place and was placing for birdie or higher on each gap. And he or she thinks it might have been higher.
“I really feel like I left truly 4 photographs on the market,” he stated. “Like, the final I lipped on the left edge. The opening earlier than I left it like an inch quick. Went within the jaws on a number of holes earlier than and it simply stayed out. Then I missed birdie putt on the entrance 9, and that was like from like 6 toes. So I am trying again considering, ‘Oh, I might have finished extra.'”
At one level on her second 9, she began fascinated with a 59. After which she missed the putt.
“I used to be simply attempting to go as little as I might,” she stated. “To be honest, my boyfriend stated to me, ‘What is going to make me comfortable is seeing you on the highest of the leaderboard and simply smash it.’ That is what I had in my head.”
