Golf: Hull takes extra attention in stride

Charley Hull. Photo / Getty Images

Playing with Lydia Ko meant there were always going to be extra eyes on Charley Hull during the first round of the New Zealand Women's Open.

With a sizeable gallery following Ko around the Clearwater Golf Club in Christchurch yesterday, it also spelled extra scrutiny for her playing partners.

Hull, who some people refer to as England's answer to Ko given she is only 17, responded well under the pressure as she fired a three-under 69 to hold a share of third overnight alongside Ko and three other players, one shot back from co-leaders Stacey Tate and Seon Woo Bae.

Hull's first shot of the day on the par-five 10th went well right as she struck a concrete path beside the fairway and copped a nasty bounce, but it was smooth sailing after that as she made six birdies and three bogeys.

"In a way I kind of like the feeling of that pressure," Hull said. "It's good to have it off you. But I thought on the golf course, everyone's going to be comparing you to Lydia. I played all right and so did she."

While the comparisons are there to see, Hull said she didn't view yesterday's round as a shootout between her and the 16-year-old Ko, while the third player in their group, Australian Stacey Keating, fired a one-under 71 to hold a share of 16th.

"I'm very competitive in everything I do. But at the end of the day there's loads more people in this competition so I'm not really playing against Lydia," Hull said. "You're just playing against the golf course. I look at Lydia and I see some things in her game [I like]. I think her tempo's very good."

Hull was named the Ladies European Tour's rookie of the year last year after she finished second in her first five starts.

This week's tournament is the first of the year for Hull, who took time off last month to see family and friends, although she did hit some balls on Christmas Day.