# Chasing Ghosts and Sand: Charley Hull and Lottie Woad Eye Final-Round Glory at Royal Lytham

**By Amelie Fontaine**  \nPublished August 4, 2026  \nUpdated September 9, 2026

> England's Charley Hull and Lottie Woad enter the final round of the AIG Women's Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes with sights set on capturing an elusive major title amid punishing coastal winds.

On a Lancashire coast where the wind howled like the Big Dipper rollercoaster just down the road in Blackpool, Saturday at Royal Lytham & St Annes delivered a kinetic scramble through the famed course's 167 treacherous bunkers. For the home crowd, the narrative crystallised around two English contenders navigating vastly different stages of their careers: 30-year-old Charley Hull, hunting to break a frustrating run of five runner-up finishes in majors, and 22-year-old Lottie Woad, quietly lurking near the summit.

Entering the third round sitting five shots off the pace, Hull endured a nightmarish opening sequence. She carded three bogeys in her first six holes, later admitting to Sky Sports, The first six holes I played like a 10 handicapper and I missed three putts I should have holed from inside five feet that would have kept me at level par instead of three over. Yet, true to her aggressive weekend blueprint, Hull sparked a back-nine rescue mission with birdies on the 15th and 16th holes, scrambling to a level-par 71 to sit at two under overall, five strokes behind leader Yealimi Noh.

Woad, meanwhile, posted a disciplined one-under 70 to reach three under. Reflecting on the brutal conditions, Woad noted, That back nine was playing very tough with that wind. Probably the strongest it's been all week and playing long, so definitely pars were good on that. Then eventually I knew that 16 would be a good chance and I managed to capitalise on that.

## The Collapse of the Leader and Noh's Ascent

While the English duo fought upward, Friday's overnight leader, South Korea's Ryu Hae-ran, careened into reverse. Armed with a comfortable four-stroke advantage after three early birdies, Ryu unraveled on the back nine, culminating in a three-over 74. Her round encapsulated the hazards of Royal Lytham when she found an unplayable spot in the sand on the 10th. Opting for a pragmatic safety measure, she deliberately chipped sideways into the center of the bunker to guarantee an exit path—a scramble she described as her best bogey of the day.

Capitalizing on the carnage, American Yealimi Noh carded a two-under 69 in the punishing gusts. Noh is one of only nine players to finish round three under par, climbing to the top of the leaderboard at seven under. However, she enters unchartered territory on Sunday, holding a three-stroke lead over a chasing pack featuring world number two Jeeno Thitikul, Germany's Esther Henseleit, Lucy Li, and Japan's Shiho Kuwaki all locked at four under.

## The Weight of History and Hull's All-Out Blueprint

For Hull, the Sunday equation requires tossing conservative math out the window. Her past major near-misses—including runner-up finishes at the 2023 and 2025 AIG Women's Opens, alongside a narrow defeat to Nelly Korda at Riviera in the 2026 US Women's Open—have forged a specific tactical mindset.

- **2026 US Women's Open (Riviera):** Finished 7-under, losing by a single shot.
- **2025 Women's Open (Royal Porthcawl):** Finished 9-under, two shots behind Miyu Yamashita.
- **2023 Women's Open (Walton Heath):** Faded with a Sunday 73 after co-leading.
- **2023 US Women's Open (Pebble Beach):** Charged with a closing 66 to finish three back.
- **2016 Chevron Championship:** Pipped by Lydia Ko by a single stroke.Rather than dodging Lytham's penalizing sand traps, Hull plans to attack. Even off the tee, if you're not hitting driver and trying to take the bunkers out of play you can still find them, Hull told Golf Monthly. So you might as well hit driver and find a bunker 50 yards further down there and be closer to the green, make the hole a bit shorter. History offers a comforting omen: fellow Briton Georgia Hall claimed the Women's Open title at Lytham in 2018, and pictures of Hull playing in the 2006 Pro-Am as a 10-year-old suggest a poetic full-circle afternoon awaits if she can convert her aggressive strategy into hardware.

## Sources

- [bbc.com](https://www.bbc.com/sport/golf/articles/c3v03v02xgwo) — original
- [Paul Higham](https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/charley-hull-vows-to-go-at-everything-in-bid-to-finally-win-first-major) — original
- [Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/13568980/aig-womens-open-charley-hull-and-lottie-woad-chase-final-round-push-for-elusive-major-victory-at-royal-lytham-and-st-annes) — original
- [lpga.com](https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/aigwomensopen/results) — original