Charley Hull made a bogey-free start to her Ladies European Tour season to sit four shots off the early lead at the PIF Saudi Ladies International.
Hull, making her first LET appearance since winning the Aramco Team Series event in Riyadh last November, registered three birdies in an opening-round 69 at Riyadh Golf Club.
The Englishwoman made a two-putt birdie at the par-five fifth and picked up another shot at the par-four seventh, with Hull ending a run of pars by birdieing the par-four last to get to three under.
Charley Hull is four strokes off the early lead in Saudi Arabia as she chases a first win of 2025
Hull sits tied-20th after the opening day of the three-day tournament and is in touch with early leader Somi Lee, who mixed eight birdies with a lone bogey to set the pace with a seven-under 65.
“I feel very good,” Lee said. “Last year, I had a problem with my shots, so that was the part I focused on during the winter training. It worked pretty well, so I’m very happy about it.”
Somi Lee holds a one-shot lead after the opening day
Lee posted four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn and birdied each of her last three holes to edge ahead of a congested leaderboard, with Solheim Cup player Esther Henseleit a shot back in tied-second alongside England’s Annabell Fuller.
Henseleit and Fuller both made bogey-free starts to the week, while world No 4 Jeeno Thitikul is in the logjam sharing fourth spot on five under and former Solheim Cup player Anne Van Dam is three off the pace.
“I just hit it pretty consistently today, I struck my irons nicely and luckily, I holed a couple of putts,” Fuller said. “On the par-five, I had a tap-in birdie so that was pretty stress free.”
Cara Gainer – who claimed her maiden LET title at the Lalla Meryem Cup last week – started with a one-under 71.
In the 36-hole team competition, running alongside the individual event, Stephanie Kyriacou’s team holds a one-shot advantage over Lee’s team. The best two scores on each hole from a four-player team count towards the score, with Kyriacou’s side ending the day on 18 under.
Who will win the PIF Saudi Ladies International? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Friday from 10.30am on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.
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