It was a little chilly at The Colony, a bedroom community of Dallas, about 30-miles north of Big-D, when the ladies teed it up Thursday morning at the Volunteers of America Classic.
It was 45-degrees with a bit of a wind chill — feels-like was in the high 30s but that didn’t bother Charley Hull, the spunky English golfer. Charley shot a three-under par 68 on the Old American course and grabbed the first round lead by herself.
It was the sort of day where low scores weren’t to be found and by day’s end, only 10 players found themselves in red numbers.
“I struggled swinging the last two holes, I just got so cold,” said Hull, who played the eighth and ninth (her final two holes) in one-over par. “Along that lake you just get like freezing.”
Nelly Korda is still on the mend, hoping to play in next week’s Women’s U.S. Open, but sister Jessica took up the slack and posted a two-under par 69 and was tied for second with Pornanong Phatlum from Thailand.
Defending champion Cheyenne Knight was just two shots back of Hull’s lead with a one-under par 70. Knight was one of a half-dozen players in at one-under.
World’s No. 1 Jin Young Ko finished with an even par round of 71.
More cold temperatures and winds in the 10-15 mile-per-hour range are on tap for Friday’s second round.
Volunteers of American Scoreboard:
Andy Sullivan Is 17-Under In Dubai:
They say it’s tough to follow up a great round with a good one but Andy Sullivan did his best on Thursday at the Dubai Golf Championship when he added a six-under par 66 to his opening 61.
Sullivan stands at 17-under par after two trips around the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates and that was a shot short of tying the European Tour’s 36-hole record of 18-under set back in 2004 by Ernie Els at the Heineken Classic. Andy was three shots clear of fellow Englishmen Matt Wallace (63-67) and Ross Fisher (63-67).
“It was basically just to stay patient and give ourselves as many chances as possible,” Sullivan said. “It is hard, as much as I had to work hard at staying patient today, when I was three under through nine it didn’t feel as good as yesterday. You know you are still on the right track. I knew I was swinging it well and I knew if I kept giving myself opportunities I could make a few coming in. If you told me I would shoot 61-66, I would have snapped your hand off.”
Andy’s good play carried into Friday’s third round. He shot 68 and is 21-under through 54 holes, two shots better than Wallace, who shot 67. Fisher and Italy’s Renato Paratore were tied for third at 18-under par.
Dunhill Winner Shares South African Open Lead:
Christiaan Bezuidenhout didn’t have a lot of time to celebrate his victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship last week as he headed straight over to play in the South African Open.
Bezuidenhout didn’t miss a beat at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City and his five-under par 67 earned him a share of the first round lead.
The South African made the most of his first nine holes. Starting at the 10th, he made five birdies and shot even par coming home. He found himself tied at the top with fellow South Africans Ruan Korb, Jacques Kruyswijk and Dean Burmster as well as Italy’s Aron Zemmer and Matthias Schwab from Austria.
South African Open Scoreboard:
