Tag: Charley Hull

Nelly Korda outduels Charley Hull to win 2024 The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican

Korda won her seventh victory on the LPGA in 2024 and 15th of her career.

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Nelly Korda didn’t know brother Sebastian had come out to watch her play on Sunday until she’d finished. He’d never seen her win on the LPGA before, and his presence at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican was a gift in itself. The siblings hadn’t seen each other since the summer, when Nelly went to watch him compete in the U.S. Open.

“For him to drive an hour and 40 with three holes remaining,” said Korda, “one, he was very confident in me, and, two, just really nice to have his support and be out here.”

Family and team mean everything to Korda, and she credits much of her monumental seven-win season to those who occupy her bubble. This week, she made certain to mention longtime physio Kim Baughman early and often. The pair have spent a great deal of time together in the lead-up to this event after Korda suffered a neck injury before she was scheduled to fly to Asia.

The Annika: Leaderboard | Photos

“I mean, it was three times a day that I was seeing her and she lives 40 minutes away,” said Korda. “So she was coming to my house three times a day. Before and after practice, I mean, to every work out. I think she needs a vacation that I will gladly pay for.”

Korda said she rushed her rehab to get back for this week. Now a three-time champion at Pelican Golf Club, the World No. 1 relishes playing close to home. Her first victory of the season was practically in the backyard of her parents’ house in Bradenton, Florida, just down the road from where she was born.

With her most recent victory on the LPGA coming in May, Korda said it felt like lifetimes have passed since a torrid streak that included five consecutive wins. Since that time, there was:

  • the 10 at the U.S. Women’s Open
  • the unbelievable 81 at the KPMG Women’s PGA
  • the dog bite at a coffee shop
  • final-round heartbreaks in Paris and St. Andrews
  • migraines that led to neck pain and a forced two-month break this fall

Through it all, Korda showed an enviable resilience.

“She’s pretty badass,” said Sebastian, “she’s as tough as it gets.”

2024 The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican
Charley Hull f England and Nelly Korda of the United States prepare to play the first hole during the final round of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican 2024 at Pelican Golf Club on November 17, 2024 in Belleair, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

On Sunday in Belleaire, Korda began the final round one stroke back of Charley Hull and found herself further back early on Sunday after a front-nine 37. A string of five birdies from Nos. 11-15, however, put her in the driver’s seat, and she won with ease after a final-round 67. Korda’s 14 under total put her three clear of Hull, Jin Hee Im and Weiwei Zhang, who secured her card for 2025 with the effort.

Now a 15-time winner on the LPGA, Korda’s seventh victory of the season puts her in rare company as she joins Kathy Whitworth (1973), Nancy Lopez (1978, 1979) and Beth Daniel (1990) as the only Americans since 1970 with seven or more wins in a single season. Yani Tseng was the last player on tour to win seven times back in 2011.

“Feel like I definitely matured a lot,” said Korda. “I realized what really matters truly in life, you know, through the tough times. I would say you’re not really grateful for them. You’re like why me? Why is this happening to me? Here we go again.

“But you have to be grateful for those times because they do help you grow. They make you realize what really truly matters. The people that really truly look out for you and are there for you will stick through it with you.”

Check out some photos from The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican on the LPGA

The Annika features some of the LPGA’s biggest names.

The 2024 Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican features some of the LPGA’s biggest names: Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, Charley Hull, Minjee Lee, Rose Zhang and Lilia Vu. It’s hosted by perhaps the best womens golfer of all time, Annika Sorenstam.

Held at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, it’s the penultimate event on the LPGA’s 2024 schedule.

Check out some photos of the event.

Charley Hull and Nelly Korda finish in the dark at The Annika, where they’ll battle once again on Sunday

“My putt, I could barely see the hole.”

As the final group chased what little daylight was left up the 18th hole, Charley Hull rinsed her approach at Pelican Golf Club while Nelly Korda suffered a disappointing three-putt.

“I was hitting a 7-iron to the green, and usually my 7-iron in this weather is like 165, 107 club. The sun then dropped, and it was kind of dark. Then it got the wind up, and I hit a really good 7-iron in and hit it pure. It just come up short in the water. Tricky little up-and-down,” said Hull.

“But my putt, I could barely see the hole. I couldn’t see the break or anything. So it was pretty dark to finish in.”

Korda called it poor planning, starting the third round so late at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. The TV window was scheduled to finish at 5 p.m. ET but the final threesome, which teed off at 12:13 p.m., didn’t finish until 5:50 p.m. and Golf Channel stayed on air til the end.

Hull and Korda, two of the fastest players on tour, can’t be blamed. The final round is scheduled to finish at 4:30 p.m. ET on Golf Channel.

Hull paces the field at 12 under while Korda, a two-time winner of this event, sits one back with China’s Weiwei Zhang. While Korda looks to nab her seventh title of the season, Zhang is fighting for full status for the 2025.

“I just felt it’s amazing day today,” said Zhang, who carded a career-low 8-under 62. “I can’t say anything. Just I don’t know how to play that well today.”

Charley Hull of England and Nelly Korda of the United States looks on from the 18th hole during the third round of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican 2024 at Pelican Golf Club on November 16, 2024 in Belleair, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

There’s much on the line Sunday at Pelican, which year after year delivers a first-class finish. In addition to the trophy, players are battling for a spot in the 60-player CME Group Tour Championship as well as their status for next season. In addition, South Korea’s Jin Hee Im, who currently trails by three, looks to make a big move in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race.

Two-time major winner Brittany Lincicome, who lives in nearby St. Petersburg, will tee it up in her final round as a full-time player on Sunday. Lincicome carded a second consecutive 69 and holds a share of 36th. She tees off at 9:12 a.m. on Sunday alongside Ally Ewing and Jiwon Jeon.

Lincicome has her husband, Dewald Gouws, on the bag this week but plans to have her father, Tom, come inside the ropes Sunday to carry her home on the 18th. It will no doubt be an emotional finish for the mother of two who has long been a fan favorite.

Another Charley Hull, Nelly Korda showdown on tap at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican

The pair squared off against each other in singles at the Solheim Cup.

BELLEAIRE, Fla. – Charley Hull is a whopping 38 under in her last seven rounds of competitive golf worldwide. The always-entertaining Englishwoman, fresh off a victory on the Ladies European Tour, currently leads The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican by two strokes over World No. 1 Nelly Korda.

The pair, of course, squared off against each other in singles last September at the Solheim Cup, where Hull dusted the American, 6 and 4.

“Yeah, I like playing with Nelly,” said Hull after her round. “She makes loads of birdies, so good fun to watch. Yeah, it’s really cool. I’m going to ask her about her swimsuit thing because she’s looked really nice in it. I think it was pretty cool.”

The “swimsuit thing” is the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which featured Korda for the first time. Korda admitted to being shy at first on the set of the shoot.

“By the end of day, I was having so much fun with them,” she said of the crew.

The 2024 Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican
Nelly Korda looks on during the second round of the 2024 Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican

in Belleair, Florida. (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

A two-time winner of The Annika, Korda said she may have rushed her rehab a bit after a neck injury to return to Pelican this year. Back-to-back 66s have her at 8 under. She’s quite comfortable playing close to home.

“Even with it being windy, tough conditions,” said Korda, “I just kind of know the holes where you kind of have to be safe and the holes where you can be a little bit more aggressive on.”

Hull made a bet with her boyfriend before the start of Thursday’s round that for every five birdies made they’d stay an extra day on their European vacation. She made seven birdies in the first round and five more on Friday.

“A lot more trickier than yesterday,” said Hull of Friday’s conditions, “so you got to have a good ball-striking day and I’m a good ball-striker, so played more into my hands.”

Alexa Pano chipped it in the water on the 18th to make double but still managed a second-round 64 to hold a share of third with rookie Jin Hee Im, Mi Hyang Lee and Wichanee Meechai at 7 under.

“There is no good miss out there,” said Pano of the closing hole. “Left, long, right, nothing is good. Definitely water is short. That I found out.

“You got to play smart on that hole, and hopefully I’ll figure it out a little bit better over the weekend.”

Brittany Lincicome, who is playing in her final event as a full-time player, made it to the weekend after carding a 69 on Friday to get to 1 under for the tournament.

“I’m super excited, super relieved to get today done,” said Lincicome. “I have not felt that many nerves running through my body. Like my hands were shaking so bad.

“One of the caddies was like, ‘You still got it. You played so great today. Why are you shutting it down?’ I’m like, if you could be in my head and feel what my hands are feeling and how shaky I am on the golf course, you would retire, too.”

Three players did not finish Round 2 due to darkness, which means third-round tee times won’t be released until Saturday morning.

Boyfriend’s vacation bet boosts Charley Hull into share of early lead at The Annika

About 10 minutes before Hull teed off in her opening round at Pelican Golf Club, her boyfriend made a bet.

BELLEAIR, Fla. – Roughly 10 minutes before Charley Hull teed off in her opening round at Pelican Golf Club, her boyfriend made a bet. For every five birdies made, they’d have an extra day tacked onto their upcoming European holiday.

“I was trying to make 10 birdies,” said Hull of her opening 6-under 64 at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. “Hopefully I’ll have more over the weekend, and I’ll have a two-week holiday at the end of the year.”

Side bets help the Englishwoman focus.

While playing several weeks ago on the LET in Saudi Arabia, her boyfriend called before the final round and said he reckoned she’d be 3 under after three holes. Hull took on the challenge. She didn’t get to 3 under quite that fast but still closed with a 6-under 66 to claim her first title in two years.

“I feel like I’ve been playing very, very well all year,” said Hull, who holds a share of first with Jiwon Jeon. “Sometimes you just forget how to win. So that’s kind of reminded me how to win.”

World No. 1 Nelly Korda headlines a group of players in a share of third at 4 under.

2024 The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican
Brittany Lincicome looks on from the first green during the first round of 2024 The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. (Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Brittany Lincicome, who is competing in her final event on tour as a full-time player, opened with a 70 thanks to a back-nine 32.

“If you would’ve seen that front nine you would’ve thought, oh, my God, she’s going to shoot 85 today,” said Lincicome who made four bogeys in her first eight holes.

“You know, finally got a birdie on the front which helped, and then a bogey the next hole of course. Then just trying to calm down the nerves. Like I don’t know what happened after having kids or taking time off and coming back, but my brain just doesn’t quite – my body and my skills feel like they’re there and then my brain gets in the way.”

The 28-year-old Hull has enjoyed a strong stretch of play since she slipped in the shower and injured her right shoulder in July. In her last four starts on the LPGA, she hasn’t finished outside the top 20. Not to mention the 6-and-4 drumming of Nelly Korda in Sunday singles at the Solheim Cup.

After a T-19 at the Kroger Queen City in September, Hull headed back to England to recharge before taking a share of 12th at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia and a victory on the LET.

2024 Maybank Championship
Charley Hull of England smokes on the ninth hole during the second round of the 2024 Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club. (Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)

Hull had a physio stretch her out during Thursday’s play, and she pointed to bad hips.

“I’ve been kind of lazy on the physio the last two weeks,” she explained. “Haven’t really had any physio and it’s just gone out.

“Yesterday I wasn’t feeling very well in the pro-am, had stomach pains and cramps and stuff. I think it just tightened my whole body up. I’m going to have a bit of physio and some needles put in me after the round.”

When a reporter noted that the issues must not have impacted her performance given the strong results, she confirmed that she could feel it.

“But at the end of the day,” she said, “I think pain is a weakness of the mind, so you just got to hit through it.”

Charley Hull wins first title in 2 years at LET event in Saudi Arabia

A two-time winner on the LPGA, Hull now owns four LET titles.

Charley Hull clinched her first title in two years at the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF – Riyadh, with a closing 6-under 66. The popular Englishwoman has been trending for some time and finally made it back in the winner’s circle. 

“I felt really sharp, I played very solidly today,” said Hull of the win in Saudi Arabia. “I made a bogey on the par-5 17th and the par 3, but that was just two three-putts. So quite long putts, in all fairness, and they got away from me a little bit, but felt like I held my game together pretty well. And 18 under for three days is a pretty good score.” 

Camels overlook the action on the 18th in Saudi Arabia. (Courtesy Aramco Team Series)

Hull, 28, has enjoyed a strong stretch of play since she slipped in the shower and injured her right shoulder in July. In her last four starts on the LPGA, she hasn’t finished outside the top 20. Not to mention the 6-and-4 drumming of Nelly Korda in Sunday singles at the Solheim Cup. After a T-19 at the Kroger Queen City in September, Hull headed back to England to recharge.

Now, she adds a victory on the Ladies European Tour.

Hull finished at 18 under for the three-day event, three strokes ahead of Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup.

“I feel like my game’s been pretty good all season,” said Hull. “I’ve been knocking on the door quite a lot over the past couple years and this week it all came together. I feel good. I’m going to get a hot chocolate [to celebrate], that’s about as exciting as it gets for me.

“I was actually in the gym this morning, I didn’t start my warm-up until 45 minutes before because I needed to get a 5K-run in. I felt really strong out there.”

England’s Charley Hull celebrates her fourth LET title. (Courtesy Aramco Team Series)

A two-time winner on the LPGA, Hull now owns four LET titles. Since her last win in Texas on the LPGA two years ago, she’s recorded eight runner-up finishes across both the LPGA and LET.

“I’m going home for a week before I head back to America for the last two events on the LPGA Tour, which is The Annika event, and then the CME Group Tour Championship,” she said. “I like the Tour Championship golf course. I won there in 2016, so I’m looking forward to them, too, and then home for Christmas – I can’t wait.” 

Chiara Tamburlini became the first Swiss player to win the LET Order of Merit after her T-7 finish at Riyadh. The 24-year-old is the seventh player in LET history to win the Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year in the same season, joining Laura Davies, Carlota Ciganda, Esther Henseleit, Jeeno Thitikul, Linn Grant and Trichat Cheenglab.

This marked the fifth and final event of the $1 million Aramco Team Series presented by PIF tournaments organized by Golf Saudi. The LET’s Saudi-backed events remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.

After month off, Charley Hull closes with 65 in Malaysia before heading to Saudi Arabia

“I know I shot 65, but I left a lot of shots out there.”

Charley Hull returned to action in Malaysia after a month off and finished in style. The popular English player closed with a bogey-free 65 at the Maybank Championship on the strength of a back-nine 30. Hull made four consecutive birdies on Sunday over Nos. 11-14 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

“I know I shot 65, but I left a lot of shots out there,” said Hull, “especially on my back nine; missed few putts.”

Hull has enjoyed a strong stretch since she slipped in the shower and injured her right shoulder in July. In her last five starts on the LPGA, she hasn’t finished outside the top 20. Not to mention the 6-and-4 drumming of Nelly Korda in Sunday singles at the Solheim Cup.

After a T-19 at the Kroger Queen City in September, Hull headed back to England to recharge.

Maybank: Ruoning Yin captures 2024 Maybank Championship for second win in Asian Swing

“I just love being at home,” said the 28-year-old. “I love being with my boyfriend. I just love England. I seriously love England. When I come away I get really homesick, so I’m so excited to go home. I’m in Saudi next week and then I’m home for a week.”

Charley Hull of England smokes on the 9th hole during the second round of the Maybank Championship 2024 at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club on October 25, 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)

Hull, who became a Golf Saudi ambassador this year, will compete at Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia Oct. 31-Nov. 2 in the conclusion of the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF on the Ladies European Tour.

From there, she’ll head back to England for a week off before coming to the U.S. for the last two events in Florida.

“I like the Tour Championship,” said Hull of the CME Group Tour Championship Naples, which she won in 2016. “Obviously I like the golf course the week before as well (The Annika’s Pelican Golf Club in Belleair).

“I’m excited to be on that plane home to spend Christmas at home.”

Charley Hull overcomes blustery conditions and six-hour rounds to lead 2024 Women’s British Open at St. Andrews

Hull opened with a 5-under 67 at the Old Course.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Charley Hull and Nelly Korda are two of the fastest women in the game. Yet in the opening round of the AIG Women’s British Open, they played the Old Course alongside defending champion Lilia Vu in six hours and eight minutes.

On a blustery day in St. Andrews the par-3 11th, the most exposed hole on the golf course, had as many as four groups waiting to play. Andrea Lee waited 45 minutes to hit her tee shot, sitting on her bag for 15 of them.

Hull took a bathroom break on the 11th tee and then went over to have a chat with her boyfriend and good friend James Northern, the mate she famously got Paula Creamer’s autograph for after beating her in Sunday singles at the 2013 Solheim Cup.

“It took ages,” said Hull. “I had a bet with my caddie. I said, ‘I reckon it’ll take six and a half’; he said, no way, he said, five hours (and) 30 (minutes). I was right.”

Hull, who prefers parkland golf to links, opened with a 5-under 67, nearly holing her approach on the par-4 18th for eagle, to take a one-shot lead over world No. 1 Korda and Ruoning Yin, who played in tougher conditions as one of the first groups out.

Six players – including Vu and Lee – opened with a 69 to take a share of fourth. A total of 17 players broke par,  with the vast majority coming in the afternoon.

The morning wave saw winds consistently blow 30-35 mph, with gusts up to 39 mph. The winds reduced some as the day wore on, but pace of play was glacial as backing off the ball became routine.

It didn’t help that officials were forced to use a two-tee start due to the Paris Olympics moving back the championship by two weeks. That meant one less hour of daylight for the field of 156.

The last group to tee off No. 10 played the first four holes in two hours and 45 minutes.

Nelly Korda of the United States plays her shot from the 11th tee during Day One of the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews Old Course on August 22, 2024 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images)

When asked if rounds of more than six hours were acceptable at a major championship, Korda said “obviously not.”

“But with circumstances of the wind and then with it kind of intersecting between two holes, it’s kind of a given,” she said “I think we all knew that kind of playing the golf course for the first time on Monday.”

England’s Hull, who has yet to win a major championship, credited her longtime coach, Matt Belsham, for getting her prepared for this week by working on three-quarter shots, ball position and patience. She also played Turnberry with her boyfriend on Monday and finished fifth at the Scottish Open last week.

For Hull, who was unofficially diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) last summer, slow play has long been an enemy. She conquered all the hurdles in fine fashion on Thursday, delighting crowds along the way as she vaped down the fairways of the venerable course, her stylish aviators on to block out the wind.

Charley Hull walks onto the 17th green while she has a vape during day one of the 2024 AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews. Picture date: Thursday August 22, 2024. (Photo by Steve Welsh/PA Images via Getty Images)

“It was loads of fun out there today,” said Hull. “Actually, before my round I was in there watching it on the TV when I saw the scores, and I thought, how is (Yin) 4-under par; that was an unbelievable score. I’d take that now because it was gusting a lot on the range, and I said to my coach, feels like they could call it at any minute because I don’t know how the balls are staying on the greens.

“To go out there, shoot 5-under, play pretty solid, it was a lot of fun.”

This marks the third time an LPGA major has ever been contested over the Old Course, with Lorena Ochoa (2007) and Stacy Lewis (2013) winning the first two.

Minjee Lee, Megan Khang keeping their eyes on the prize through tough ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open conditions

“It’s kind of crazy. I’m aiming 30, 40 yards right of the pin.”

They needed to play catch-up at Dundonald Links on Thursday. In fact, the organizers just about required a couple of snookers to get the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open back on track after Thursday’s meteorological muddle, when heavy rains soaked the course.

We’re getting there, though. As for Minjee Lee and Megan Khang? Well, it’s a case of catch us if you can. Lee, the 28-year-old Australian, pinched the first-round lead on Thursday in the near darkness. On Friday, she was home and dry at a more civilized hour.

A three-under 69, which included a finishing flourish of two birdies at 17 and 18, cemented her position at the top of the order. 

She was joined at the summit later in the evening by Khang, who picked up a birdie on her closing hole en route to a four-under 68.

Lee, whose brother Min Woo won the men’s Scottish Open back in 2021, has dropped only one shot in 36 holes. In the robust conditions this week, that’s a fine effort.

Last year, Lee began her Dundonald campaign with a potentially ruinous 80 but then reeled off three rounds in the 60s during the kind of mighty salvage operation that raised the Mary Rose. The two-time major winner is now 22-under for her last five rounds in this neck of the woods.

More of the same will do over the weekend. “Obviously, I would love to win,” said Lee, who was pipped to the Scottish title by a shot when it was played at Gullane in 2018.

“I’m just going to do what I can control. I can’t control what other people are doing. I’ll just try my very best. If that happens to be a win, then great.”

Khang packed six birdies into her round as the American Solheim Cup player fortified her position on the leaderboard.

With the wind whipping over the links, Khang certainly enjoyed the challenge. “It’s not often I’m hitting a 7-iron to a 116-yard pin,” she said of this very different style of golf.

“It’s kind of crazy. I’m aiming 30, 40 yards right of the pin and to be able to pull off a shot, it’s a huge confidence boost. You just laugh, like wow, I can’t believe that actually worked sometimes. And so just having a mindset, all right, let’s really trust it and have some fun. Sometimes it can work out and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m trying to tell myself that if I can at least do everything I can to hit the shot I picture, I really can’t be too upset.”

Meanwhile, England’s Charley Hull is right in the thick of it heading into the weekend after following up her opening 70 with a 68 to lurk just two shots off the pace on six-under.

Starting on the 10th, Hull enjoyed a lively little burst around the turn and birdied the 17th and eagled the 18th after her approach trundled to within 15 feet of the pin. Two more birdies at the first and third bolstered her assault.

Hull warmed up for this week’s domestic showpiece down the road at Turnberry. She even declared that The Open and some of the big women’s events should head back to the storied Ailsa links.

Of course, with Donald Trump’s name on the entry gates, there’s more chance of The Open being staged on the outer rings of Saturn. 

Hull’s Turnberry tune-up has certainly stood her in good stead, though.

With the AIG Women’s Open coming up next week at the Old Course, Hull is getting into the links swing again.

“I love links golf but I find it hard to play in,” said Hull, who is looking to capture a third LPGA Tour title. “I feel like my game is more built for America. 

“But over the last few weeks, my coach and I have been working on doing more three-quarter swings so I can do a low-ball flight for the (Women’s) Open. It is actually paying off.”

Lydia Ko, the newly crowned Olympic champion, harnessed the conditions to fine effect as she joined Hull and American, Lauren Coughlin, on the six-under mark after a 69.

“I can’t remember the last time I’ve had to hit a 3-wood on a par 3,” smiled Ko of the club she had to clatter into the wind on the fourth. 

“I hit a 5-iron yesterday and today I hit a 3-wood and it landed just pin-high. The number goes out of the window in the wind.”

It wasn’t a good day for the home hopefuls. Only three were in the field and they’re all out now. Gemma Dryburgh, who was desperate for a good week to boost her Solheim Cup ambitions, missed the cut on seven-over after a 75.

Her fellow Aberdonian, Laura Beveridge, also departed on 13-over after a turbulent 83 while Glasgow’s Kylie Henry joined the casualty list on 11-over although she at least shaved 11 shots off her first-round 83 with a spirited 72 in round two. There’s always a bit of pride to play for.

Leona Maguire leads Aramco London event; Charley Hull WDs after ‘nasty fall’

First, World No. 1 Nelly Korda said she was bitten by a dog, now Hull also WD with an unfortunate injury.

After the first two rounds of the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series London event, Leona Maguire and Georgia Hall find themselves at the top of the leaderboard at the Centurion Club.

Maguire shot a 72 during Thursday’s second round and sits at 8 under for the tournament with 18 holes to play, while Hall’s second consecutive 70 puts her two shots off the pace heading into Friday’s final round.

But an equally important storyline comes from the players who pulled out of the tournament, two under bizarre and unfortunate circumstances.

First, World No. 1 Nelly Korda said she was bitten by a dog in Seattle via Instagram a week after missing a third straight cut for the first time in her career.

“I regret to announce that I must withdraw from next week’s Ladies European Tour tournament in London,” Korda wrote. “I was bitten by a dog and need time to receive treatment and recover fully.”

The previous week, Korda carded a surprising 81 on Friday of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club and she was scheduled to appear in the LET event, which she won last year by four strokes.

And then, during the opening round of the event, Charley Hull — the No. 8 player in the current Rolex Rankings — also pulled out, although she did so after six holes of play.

On her Instagram, Hull said she suffered a “nasty fall” prior to the tournament.

“I had to withdraw from @aramcoteamseries London following medical advice, due to ongoing pain in my right shoulder following a nasty fall on Sunday night. I’m so disappointed as I always love playing in this series, particularly in front of a home crowd,” she said.

“Sorry to the fans who came out to watch, my playing partners for leaving you after 6 holes, and to all.”

Hull has gone viral a few times over the last month or so for smoking cigarettes during LPGA tournaments.

At the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this month, there was a video that did its trip around social media showing Hull signing autographs for fans while smoking.