Thitikul leads Open as Ryu and Kuwaki chase

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Jeeno Thitikul is yet to win a major

ByAlastair TelferBBC Sport journalist

Published28 minutes ago

AIG Women's Open

-7 A Thitikul (Tha); -5 S Kuwaki (Jpn), H Ryu (Kor); -4 Y Noh (US), C Boutier (Fra); -3 C Iwai (Jpn), C Wannasaen (Tha); -2 P Martin (Esp), L Coughlin (US), C Hull (Eng), R Takeda (Jpn), M Saigo (Jpn), L Woad (Eng), S Tan (Sin).

Selected others: -1 A Hewson (Eng), E Rhodes (Eng), A Fuller (Eng), L Ko (NZ), +1 M Yamashita (Jpn), +2 N Korda.

Full leaderboard

World number two Jeeno Thitikul leads the first round of the AIG Women's Open by two shots after a spectacular seven-under 64 at Royal Lytham & St Anne's.

The 23-year-old has 11 top-10 finishes in majors but has never won one, and went bogey-free in a fine start to her latest attempt.

South Korea's Haeran Ryu, aiming to become only the fifth woman in history to claim three majors in a calendar year, is second alongside Japan's Shiho Kuwaki on five under.

England's Lottie Woad and Charley Hull are both on two under, while compatriot Alice Hewson led the tournament in the morning and finished one under.

"Winning one [major] doesn't mean I am going to have a really good, successful career," Thitikul said.

"Winning one doesn't mean much, I would rather be a consistent player, more than just winning one and then gone.

"Sometimes I had a hard time dealing with all the noise."

The world's best golfers performed well in the opening round, with world number one Nelly Korda one of the few stars to fall behind.

Korda remains off the pace after shooting a two-over-par 73 in a round that included four bogeys.

Korda & Hull seek major glory - Women's Open tee times
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Thailand's Thitikul, who was leapfrogged by Korda as world number one when she won the Chevron Championship in April, sunk seven birdies in a faultless round.

Her round included three straight birdies on the front nine and difficult par saves.

Earlier this month, Ryu, 25, claimed her second major in the space of two weeks at the Evian Championship.

That form continued as four birdies on the front nine quickly took her to the top of the leaderboard.

Despite a bogey on the 15th, Ryu finished with two birdies in the last three holes.

Last year's Open champion Miyu Yamashita shot one-over-par, while three-time major winner Lydia Ko is even par.

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Figure caption,

Haeran Ryu birdies 18th and leads Women’s Open

Woad and Hull lead home hopes

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Woad turned professional in 2025

Royal Lytham & St Anne's has hosted the Women's Open twice and had British winners both times - Scotland's Catriona Matthew in 2009 and England's Georgia Hall in 2018 - and the class of 2026 are aiming to keep that run going.

Woad, 22, finished tied for seventh at this year's Chevron Championship, backing up top-10 finishes at last year's Open and Evian Championship.

Having coming in as one of the favourites, her bogey-free round of 69 leaves her well poised after day one.

"Good start. No bogeys, which is always a good round here. Hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. Didn't make too many putts," she said.

Hull, a five-time runner up in majors, had yet another near-miss in June's US Open and will be hoping to finally get over the line.

Four birdies on the front nine gave the 30-year-old an ideal start as she aims to go one better than her runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2025.

Despite sinking six birdies, four bogeys pegged back Hull, who showed great skill to save par from the bunker on the 18th.

"I was super nervous on the first tee. I was so nervous. It's even more nerve-wracking when you're having to hit an iron because you have to stripe an iron shot," Hull said.

"I missed quite a few putts today that I felt I should have holed, but I felt like I stayed in there pretty well considering how nervous I was, because I feel there was a lot of pressure on me out there."

Hall, the most recent British female player to win a major, is back playing after giving birth five months ago.

The 30-year-old endured a tough opening round to end the day five over.

Korda struggles in career Grand Slam quest

Korda started the year with two major titles, and any talk of a career Grand Slam seemed ambitious, even by her own high standards.

However, as the LPGA recognises a player as having achieved the career Grand Slam by winning four of the five major titles, Korda's victory at the US Open in June has given her a chance to enter the history books.

The 28-year-old, playing alongside Ryu, got off to a slow start with bogeys on the second and third holes but recovered those shots to reach the back nine at even par.

From hoping for a career Grand Slam, Korda will now have to fight to make Friday's cut.