English duo Hull and Woad five off Thitikul's lead at Women's Open
World number two Jeeno Thitikul leads the first round of the AIG Women's Open by two shots after a spectacular seven-under 64 at Royal Lytham & St Anne's.
Royal Lytham & St Anne's has hosted the Women's Open twice and had British winners both times - Scotland's Catriona Matthew in 2009 and England's Georgia Hall in 2018 - and the class of 2026 are aiming to keep that run going.
Woad, 22, finished tied for seventh at this year's Chevron Championship, backing up top-10 finishes at last year's Open and Evian Championship.
Having coming in as one of the favourites, her bogey-free round of 69 leaves her well poised after day one.
"Good start. No bogeys, which is always a good round here. Hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. Didn't make too many putts," she said.
Hull, a five-time runner up in majors, had yet another near-miss in June's US Open and will be hoping to finally get over the line.
Four birdies on the front nine gave the 30-year-old an ideal start as she aims to go one better than her runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2025.
Despite sinking six birdies, four bogeys pegged back Hull, who showed great skill to save par from the bunker on the 18th.
"I was super nervous on the first tee. I was so nervous. It's even more nerve-wracking when you're having to hit an iron because you have to stripe an iron shot," Hull said.
"I missed quite a few putts today that I felt I should have holed, but I felt like I stayed in there pretty well considering how nervous I was, because I feel there was a lot of pressure on me out there."
Hall, the most recent British female player to win a major, is back playing after giving birth five months ago.
The 30-year-old endured a tough opening round to end the day five over.
