‘Could be de-greened’: Charley Hull hits 15-foot putt, then plays 5 more shots

For most professional golfers, the 521-yard, par-5 5th hole at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links would be a scoring opportunity. For Charley Hull, however, it turned into a nightmare scenario during Thursday’s first round. Hull was putting for birdie from 15 feet when her downhill, left-to-right effort slid past the hole. After appearing to lose momentum, the ball picked up speed on the downslope and rolled entirely off the green. Just minutes earlier, playing partner Nelly Korda’s ball had finished in a similar spot, highlighting the extreme difficulty of the surface. Announcer Richard Kaufman remarked on the Golf Channel broadcast, “That could be de-greened. I don’t believe that.” Following the initial putt, Hull faced a 30-yard chip back onto the surface for par. Her shot came up short, rolling back down to her feet. “Well, this is turning into a nightmare,” Kaufman said. The next sequence saw Hull struggle significantly with the slope; two subsequent chip shots hit the incline and returned to her original position. Visibly frustrated, Hull switched clubs, yet the pattern continued. By the time she reached her seventh stroke, the broadcast crew was openly questioning the tally. Only on her fourth chip did Hull succeed in clearing the slope, ending up a few feet from the hole. She eventually sank a putt to save a quadruple-bogey 9. Hull finished the day with a six-over 78. This incident tested the exact philosophy Hull had discussed just 24 hours prior. During her pre-tournament press conference, Hull emphasized that links golf requires immense patience and the acceptance of “funky shots” and “bad bounces.” She noted that, unlike other formats, success on links courses often involves dealing with unpredictable elements and “forgetting about it” when things go wrong. While she spoke of these challenges in a theoretical context, Thursday’s performance forced her to apply those coping mechanisms in the most public way possible. The quadruple bogey served as a stark reminder of the unique challenges inherent in links architecture, where a small miscalculation can lead to a cascading series of errors. Despite the result, Hull’s approach to the remainder of the tournament will likely hinge on the resilience she advocated for earlier in the week. Her round of 78 puts her in a difficult position to climb the leaderboard, but the footage of the 5th hole will undoubtedly serve as one of the most discussed moments of the tournament, highlighting how quickly fortunes can change in elite golf.