Floods fail to dampen Hull’s performance at Aramco Saudi Ladies International

RIYADH: Englishwoman Charley Hull moved back into contention in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented by PIF with a 4-under-par 68 on Saturday, despite her hotel room flooding during the night.
The world No. 8 ended the day in a share of third on 7 under for the tournament.
But it was not all plain sailing for the Solheim Cup heavyweight after heavy rains and thunderstorms disrupted her sleep and morning preparations.
“I had to have plumbers in from 1 a.m. until 3:30 a.m. in the morning,” she said. “After that I didn’t really fancy getting up to do too much of a workout, but I’m certainly much more awake now after that round.”
Hull recently introduced a new fitness regime as she chases her first major.
Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit completed a calm and composed round of 3 under to maintain her position at the top of the leaderboard at 11 under, three strokes clear of Germany’s Esther Henseleit.
Now in a prime position to secure her first win since the 2021 ANA Championship, the Thai star was clear on what she had to do.
“You’re thinking about it, so what are you going to do about those thoughts? Tomorrow, all I want to do is make the right choices for each and every shot. Whatever it is that I’m going to face, I’m up for it,” she said.
Henseleit jumped into second place on the leaderboard with a blistering round of 7 under, outplaying her compatriot Alexandra Forsterling, who shot five under to end the day in a share of 15th.
Heinseleit thanked her coach, and fiance, Reece Phillips for his role in her ongoing development.
“He’s been helping me a lot with my swing over the last three years and it looks completely different now,” she said. “We have a good system now out there and it’s good to have someone like that on the bag.”
Former event champion Emily Pedersen shot 6 under on Saturday to move into a tie for third with Hull. The Danish No. 1 said she was hoping to make the most of the opportunity she had created.
“It was special for me to win (in Saudi Arabia) five years ago, so it would mean a lot to win again and, obviously, that’s what I’m here for,” she said.
Another former event winner, Georgia Hall, shot 3 under on Saturday to end the day in a tie for seventh place.
With plenty of big names still in the running for the largest prize fund of any Ladies European Tour event outside the majors everything looks set for a grandstand finish on Sunday.