Charley Hull is savoring a fresh chance to launch a late surge toward a major championship after delivering a dramatic third‑round rally at the AIG Women’s Open. Ranked seventh in the world, Hull found herself just five strokes off the leader midway through the round at Royal Lytham & St Annes, only to slip ten shots behind after three bogeys in the first six holes on Saturday afternoon.
The overnight leader, Haeran Ryu, seized an early advantage and began to pull away from the pack. Undeterred, Hull answered with a pair of birdies on holes seven and eight, briefly rekindling momentum. A bogey on the tenth halted her progress, but the gap narrowed when Ryu, playing several groups behind, stumbled with five bogeys over an eight‑hole stretch.
Hull capitalized on the leader’s missteps, stringing together a series of pars and then two consecutive birdies from the 15th onward. She salvaged a par on the 17th and finished the round with a par on the 18th, posting a level‑par 71 that left her five strokes behind Yealimi Noh heading into the final day.
"I’m pretty proud – the first six holes I played like a 10‑handicapper," Hull told Sky Sports. "I missed three putts I should have holed from five feet, which would have kept me at even par instead of three over. I bounced back, hit a great shot into the last hole, stayed on a good line and left it short, but I was happy with how I finished." Hull admitted that keeping track of the leaderboard was challenging because of the sparse crowd on the course, adding, "I like to sneak a look when I can." Hull’s résumé includes five runner‑up finishes in major tournaments, two of them at this very event over the past three years and another at the U.S. Women’s Open in June.
At 30, she hopes to translate those near‑misses into a breakthrough victory. "I just want to go out there and enjoy it tomorrow, not put too much pressure on myself," she said. "Go out there, have fun and trust my swing." A win would make Hull the first British woman to claim a major title since Georgia Hall’s triumph at Royal Lytham in 2018, joining the likes of Catriona Matthew, who won her major at the same venue in 2009.
Meanwhile, fellow competitor Lottie Woad is also inching closer to the lead. Woad, who has recorded top‑10 finishes in both of her previous AIG Women’s Open appearances, rebounded from a disappointing second‑round finish by carding a one‑under 70 on the third day, mixing three birdies with two bogeys to sit three under heading into the final round.
"It’s a good position to be in," Woad told Sky Sports. "I should be a few strokes back by the end of today. I’ll stick to my game plan and see what happens. The course definitely played tougher today.
The wind was probably the strongest it’s been. The back nine was a grind, but I felt a bit better on the greens and scrambled well." She added, "On this course you have to attack the front nine when it’s downwind.
I started at level par, which wasn’t ideal, but I knew there would be chances on the back nine. A lot of it is par golf." As the final round approaches, the leaderboard remains tightly packed, with Hull, Noh, Woad, and several other contenders within striking distance. The decisive day will test each player’s ability to manage the fickle coastal winds, navigate the treacherous bunkers, and maintain composure under the intense pressure of a major championship.
Fans can watch the climactic showdown live on Sunday from midday on Sky Sports Golf, or stream the action without a contract through the network’s online platform. The AIG Women’s Open, one of the five women’s majors, continues to draw global attention, showcasing the depth of talent in the women’s game. With Hull’s recent resurgence, the narrative of a seasoned competitor finally breaking through adds an extra layer of intrigue. Whether Hull can convert her recent birdies and resilient mindset into a championship win remains to be seen, but her performance thus far suggests she is ready to seize the moment and etch her name alongside the greats who have triumphed at Royal Lytham & St Annes.