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Charlie Hull overcame concerns about his game at the LPGA Tour’s Kroger Queen City Championship in Ohio.
The three-time LPGA Tour winner, returning as the defending champion after last year’s one-shot win, finished seventh after carding an opening-round 68 in cold and windy conditions at Maketewah Country Club.
Hull, who missed the cut at last week’s Mizuho Americas Open, birdied the par-four 15th and canceled out a bogey at the second with a birdie-eagle run from the sixth to briefly get within a lead.
After the opening round Hull sat two down
The Englishwoman then failed to get up and down the sand to set the pace on the par-three ninth, her final hole of the day, with Chella Choi, Ina Yoon and Ryo Takeda opening round 66s.
“I hit some good shots,” Hull told reporters. “I wasn’t really hitting it very well, so I just completely slammed my five-iron on the last hole short of the bunker.
“I don’t think the green crew raked the bunker right. There were a few bunkers like that. It was a fluffy lie like a footprint. I ended up with a bogey, but I’m pretty happy with how I played considering how I was hitting it.”
Takeda mixed five birdies with a lone bogey during his four-under 66, while Choi held the lead until back-to-back bogeys dropped him to four under, with the Yoon trio sharing the top spot.
Former Majors champions Jin Yong Ko and Lilia Vu sit one shot back in a tie-four with Amanda Doherty, while Lydia Ko matched Hull’s 68 after bogeying her final hole of the day.
Lydia Ko is chasing her first LPGA Tour win since March 2025
“The front and back nine feel like two completely different golf courses, so it’s really hard to compare,” Ko explained. “I only hit about five of the 14 fairways, but it felt good. It’s one of those golf courses where if you’re a little off, you can end up left or right in the rough or through.
“All in all, I thought I played really hard. Had a couple putts on the back nine. Other than that, I don’t really think there was much of a difference. I just tried to stay patient.”
The world’s top two players – Nelly Korda and Gino Thitikul – are both in the early threes, as England’s Lottie Wade and Solheim Cup captain Anna Nordqvist start with level-par 70s.
On the Ladies European Tour, Leonie Harm Amundi fired a bogey-free 65 to maintain a one-shot lead over compatriot Ether Henselit after the opening round of the German Masters.
Harm posted eight birdies to set the pace at Green Eagle Golf Course, with Denmark’s Sophie Kibsgaard three strokes back in third and England’s Megan McLaren taking an early four lead after a four-under 69.
“I had a great day striking the ball,” Harm said. “I don’t remember hitting that close to your flag, probably ever. It’s been a long time, and my putter was really hot.”
Who will go to the Kroger Queen City Championship? Watch LPGA Tour action live this week on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Sky Sports Mix from 8pm on Friday. Get Sky Sports or Flow without any contract.
