It’s quite the leaderboard here at the AIG Women’s Open. In fact, it’s so loaded, the thing is in danger of toppling over.
The world No 1, the defending champion and the UK’s biggest box office draw are all occupying the top three places heading into the weekend at the Old Course.
In Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu and Charley Hull, the sharp end of the final women’s major of the season is certainly not lacking in quality.
Throw in Hall of Famer Lydia Ko and a couple of other major winners and you’ve got an order of merit that’s as star-studded as the signs of the Zodiac.
It’s Nelly the elegant who is walking tall at the top. You could say she waved goodbye to the rest of the LPGA circuit as she ambled into a commanding three-shot advantage on eight-under after another nicely assembled four-under 68.
Vu, the champion at Walton Heath last year, is lurking on five-under after a 70 while Hull, runner-up 12 months ago, sits on the same mark after a battling 72. Interestingly, the leading trio had all been playing together in the same group for the opening two rounds. Three is good company.
Korda, who is perched at the summit of the global rankings, demonstrated her majesty with a bogey-free round which bolstered her push for a second major win of 2024 and a third of her career.
Compared to the wild, relentless winds of Thursday, the second day was as calm as a painting of Water Lillies by Monet. Well, for a wee bit at least. The gusts eventually whipped up again, but Korda and the early starters had some respite from the buffetings.
For the second day in a row, Korda burnished her card by picking up a delightfully engineered birdie on the imposing Road Hole 17th.
“We have a good relationship right now,” smiled Korda of a famous par-four that’s been the scene of many a grisly golfing calamity down the seasons.
Links golf, with all its nuances, quirks and occasional absurdities, can be a very different ball game but Korda, who had her first taste of it during the Women’s Open at Kingsbarns in 2017, continues to embrace the various challenges.
Rather like her tennis major-winning dad, Petr, bouncing around the clay, grass or hard courts, Korda has learned to multi-task.
“I've won on so many different types of grasses in different types of conditions and you always have to adapt,” said the 26-year-old, who enjoyed a barnstorming run of six wins in seven starts on the LPGA Tour earlier this season.
“That's the same thing in tennis, the same thing in life. You're always adapting to your situations. That's what's so fun about links golf. Every year that I get to play it, I learn a little bit more about it. Whatever links golf throws at me, I’m going to take it head on.”
Vu, aiming to become the first back-to-back champion since Yani Tseng in 2011, birdied two of her last three holes to stay very much in the hunt while overnight leader Hull showed her fighting qualities to salvage a level-par round.
The 28-year-old, who has been a runner-up three times in the women’s majors, had been three-over through 13 but conjured a spirited rally and birdied three of her last five holes to keep Korda in sight.
“I’m only three shots behind, that's nothing, especially on this golf course,” said Hull, who was quick to pinpoint where she had lost ground. “I left a lot of putts out there. I think Nelly had 30 putts. I had 36.”
As the big hitters of the current generation battled it out for supremacy in the upper echelons, it was the end of a glorious era further down the order as Catriona Matthew took her final bow in the AIG Women’s Open.
The 2009 champion had announced earlier in the week that the St Andrews showpiece would be her swansong. She finished with a flourish.
A putt of six-feet on the 18th green, which seemed to be sooked into the hole by the collective will of those looking on, gave the great Scot her one and only birdie of the championship as she signed off with a 74 for a seven-over tally. The golfing gods do have a soft side it seems.
Never one for elaborate shows of emotion, the modest Matthew had to be coaxed back onto the Swilcan Bridge for a photograph as she strolled up the final fairway.
“I was slightly embarrassed by that,” she chuckled. “I thought my one little wave was enough. But it was great walking up the last. And to finish with a birdie. I couldn't have scripted it any better.”
Thanks for the memories, Catriona.
