‘No way’: Depth of Open chaos laid bare as stars ‘blown away’ by gruelling test

A Scottish local was “blown away” by how the first round of the AIG Women’s Open Championship was playable as wild winds caused afternoon groups to take up to six and a half hours to complete their rounds at St Andrews.

Born and raised in Aberdeen on Scotland’s north-east coast, Gemma Dryburgh is well-versed in playing golf in extreme weather conditions but the 31-year-old was left dumbfounded by officials not stopping play as gusts of more than 60 kilometres per hour swept through the Old Course on Thursday.

“Just a bit blown away,” Dryburgh, who shot seven-over to be tied for 130th, said post-round.

“It was hard. My ball was blowing off the tee. It was blowing on the fairway. It was tough.

“We were on 11, our second hole, our balls were moving. My ball moved twice before I putted. Don’t know how it was playable to be honest. Especially those holes like 7 and 11 right out there.

“It’s just really tiring. It’s exhausting to be honest. Ready for a nap. Might be lighter tomorrow.”

The R&A – who run the tournament – opted against tradition for the first women’s major at the Home of Golf since 2013 as they implemented a two-tee start with groups commencing their rounds from the first and tenth tees.

“I was right.”

Hull played in the same group as world number one Nelly Korda and world number two Lilia Vu and after being delayed 12 minutes off the first tee, the star-studded trio also endured a half an hour wait at the 11th tee.

They eventually finished their round in six hours and eight minutes with Korda and Vu signing their cards one shot and two shots behind Hull respectively.

Korda – who is renowned for being one of the fastest players on the LPGA Tour – expressed her frustrations after her first competitive round at St Andrews.

“Oh, my gosh, like really long, especially when we were waiting on the 11th tee box,” Korda said.

“I mean, that was, I think, a 30-minute wait, and then waited again on 11. There was a lot of waiting on that back nine. The front nine was kind of flowing a good bit.

“Obviously in the tough conditions you have people stepping off and the flow to the round is a little slower, but you’re kind of expecting that. But then once we hit the 11th tee box, it was just full-on breaks.”