Charley Hull opened with a five-under 67.
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Our correspondent of St. Andrews Sean Zak is on AIG Women’s Open this week. Here he goes with fellow statesman Dylan Dethier to enjoy 40mph winds, stars popping up, the vibe in the city and a great quote.
Dylan Dethier, GOLF Senior Writer: Hey there, Sean.
Sean Zak, also a longtime GOLF writer: Hey, Dylan.
DD: Here’s the deal. I’ve been watching the AIG Women’s Open from my couch and then my new favorite coffee shop in Seattle. You are there in person – feeling the wind in your hair, the fescue under your feet, the haggis in your belly, etc. So I have a few questions for you.
SZ: Trust me.
DD: First, what is it like to be in St. Andrews for you personally? You’re something of an American ambassador there, after all, having lived there for the summer of 2022 — the summer of LIV’s arrival and Cam Smith’s nine, among other things — and wrote a book about your life there. How is it coming back?
SZ: It’s fantastic! One thing about St. Andrews what makes me happiest is that she mostly never changes. The storefronts look the same as they did two summers ago and the summer before and, presumably, what they will look like next summer. The 18th hole of the old course will always look the same the week of a major tournament, with the big blue bleachers in front of the great maroon Hamilton Grand, bordered by that white picket fence. The only big difference for me is that this week I will be staying in one of the student dormitories. I’m hoping to bump into a box or two there.
DD: Take a cold dip in the North Sea for me. Anyway, Day 1 is in the books. I know you just finished a report on conditions. Sum them up for me: How weird was Thursday on the old course? And did one side get a clear advantage in the tie?
SZ: It was as windy as I’ve ever seen St. Louis. Andrews. I wasn’t here in 2015 when the Open was pushed by the wind, but today had to be close to that, if not worse. We had a lot of ladies hit driver, 3-wood on the first hole. And most of the course — holes 3 through 16 — is played into a brutal crosswind. There’s just no comfort in that. And you saw it with players pulling shots on the tee, fairway and green. As for the draw, the afternoon benefited greatly. By 18:00 the wind had died down a bit and the scores showed that. We had four under par rounds in the morning and, with a few players still on the course, just over a dozen in the afternoon.
DD: There were some notable storylines – World No.1 Nelly Korda trying to finish off a winning season in style, Lydia Ko coming off her epic gold medal, Lauren Coughlin building on two big wins, Lexi Thompson playing in the grand final of her last (former) season, Charley Hull chasing her first grand close to home, Catriona Matthew announcing her retirement, etc. Through a round, which story is catching your attention?
SZ: It’s Charley Hull leading the golf tournament. I think? Or Nelly Korda, a shot back. Or Lilia Vu’s title defense – she’s only one shot away from Korda. The reason I can’t say is because the largest group of fans followed that trio on Thursday, and it wasn’t close. I think it has a little to do with the launch of Hull’s popularity this summer, after puffing on a fatal cigarette in an autograph line and NO apologizing for it. She is unapologetically herself, which draws us in. Like Brooks Koepka can sometimes do. After shooting a five-under 67 on Thursday, she can have St. Andrews in a strange state this weekend. And then she could really cause a stir by doing what Koepka did and visiting the club bar in town, The Vic.
DD: You might have to hit Vic on Sunday night no matter what, for reporting purposes. What was the biggest surprise of the day?
‘My head is pounding’: 40mph winds push women’s open field to brink
Sean Zak
SZ: It had to be Ruoning Yin. She was six under today around noon, when no one else was better than two under. Yes, she supported, because basically everyone supported that time of day. But the morning’s 68 was amazing. She then told us that she was “just trying to make the wind my friend”, which I really liked.
DD: Beautiful. What was the quote of the day from the interview area?
SZ: Georgia Hall bogeys the 9th, her 18th hole of the day, and was in a surprisingly chatty mood afterwards. She came in and shared this beauty:
“I looked in my hotel room and I can see the range, the flags on the range and that’s a good indicator for me. It was 5 in the morning and they were blowing a storm. I was like, Tthe hat is awesome. I hope it stays that way.“
She was wide-eyed, excited. It was cute.
“I’m not sure many players would agree with me,” she added. “I can hardly play like this. I play a lot in America and for me it’s more of a wooden form of golf. This is natural, raw golf.”
I had to go back and listen to that quote over and over again just to make sure it was correct. I think she was saying wood golf in a particularly British way, meaning stiff, boring, unimaginative. Here is a different brand of wood. Driftwood Wood. Old, petrified trees jutting out onto the shore. Natural and raw. This is the atmosphere. How good.
DD: Hell yes. Finally, what’s an interesting, maybe random little thing you saw today that made you especially glad to be back in Old?
SZ: Gabbi Ruffels bogeyed her tee shot on the 11th with a little gasp between 11 and 7 greens, but it was on the tee. She chose to hit a wedge from there, tossed it into the air, and it was deflected so hard by the wind that I almost jumped out of my seat in the stands. I wrote that her ball looked like a limp paper airplane sent off course. She ended up in a bunker on the edge of the green and she made triple bogey on her way to an 81. Oh! Note to self: use the shooter.
DD: Thanks mate. Go to the bars you go to. Maybe we’ll do this again tomorrow.
