Hull wins in Riyadh to claim first title since 2022
Aramco Team Series, Riyadh – final leaderboard
-18 C Hull (Eng); -15 N Estrup (Den); -13 P Babnik (Slo); -10 H Briem (Ger), A van Dam (Ned), F Fernandez Cano (Spa)
Selected others: -7 A Hewson (Eng); -6 A Dimmock (Eng), A Fuller (Eng)
Full leaderboard
England’s Charley Hull shot a six-under-par final-round 66 to win the Aramco Team Series event in Riyadh and claim her first victory since 2022.
Hull, 28, started the third and final round two strokes behind Pia Babnik of Slovenia, but five birdies in the first seven holes pushed her into a lead she was able to hang on to as she won by three shots.
“I felt really sharp, I played very solidly,” said Hull after claiming a fourth Ladies’ European Tour victory, to add to two LPGA titles.
“I made a bogey on the par-five 17th and the par three, but that was just two three putts. [They were] quite long putts and they got away from me a little bit, but I felt like I held my game together pretty well.
“And 18 under for three days is a pretty good score.”
Hull – ranked 15th in the world – won by three shots from Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup, with Babnik in third after a costly round of 73.
Fatima Fernandez Cano, who had a birdie putt for a record-equalling round of 61 on Friday, followed up with a 73 to finish tied for fourth place.
Meanwhile, the third round of the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic was cancelled on Saturday because of heavy rain caused by Typhoon Kong-rey in Shiga.
The event will be shortened to 54 holes, with the final round on Sunday. Japan’s Hana Wakimoto is in the lead on 13 under.
The 28-year-old Englishwoman’s rediscovery of her winning touch after a frustrating spell of near misses, suggests a brighter future for one of the game’s most natural talents.
“It’s been a long wait and I feel good,” said Hull, who was runner-up six times, including twice in majors, since her last tour victory in 2022. “I’ve been knocking on the door the last couple of years, and this week it all came together.”
Events elsewhere, but neighbouring Hull’s triumph in the Aramco Ladies Team Series event at the Riyadh Golf Club last Saturday, suggest a potentially more settled future for the men’s game as well.
