LPGA Tour: Charley Hull races into Ford Championship lead after brilliant bogey-free 63 as Nelly Korda four shots back

Charley Hull cards lowest round of her LPGA Tour career and hits all 18 greens in regulation during bogey-free 63 at the Ford Championship in Arizona; Englishwoman leads Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Demnark by one shot; watch live throughout the week on Sky Sports

Charley Hull felt a historic ’59 round’ was a possibility as she raced into the early lead at the LPGA Tour’s Ford Championship in Arizona.

Hull – who has posted top-20 finishes in every worldwide start since August – registered nine birdies in a stunning bogey-free 63 at Whirlwind Golf Club, setting the clubhouse target ahead of Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen.

World No 1 and defending champion Nelly Korda, who was among the later starters, is four strokes behind Hull on five under after notching four birdies on her back nine, including three in a row between 12 and 14.

Hull sets early pace in Arizona

Beginning on the back nine as part of the morning wave, Hull took advantage of the par-five 12th and added three birdies in a four-hole stretch from the 14th to race to the turn in 32.

She added three consecutive birdies from the first and two more at the fifth and seventh to jump into the solo lead.

I feel like I left actually a good four shots out there,” Hull said. “Like the last, I lipped on the left edge. The hole before I left it like an inch short.

“Went in the jaws on a few holes before and it just stayed out. Then I missed a birdie putt on the front nine and that was like from like six feet. So I’m looking back thinking ‘oh, I could have done more’.

“When I was coming down, I think it was the fourth hole, I was like, ‘oh, I could try and shoot 59’. Then I missed the putt on that hole!

“I was just trying to go as low as I could. To be fair, like my boyfriend said to me ‘what will make me happy is seeing you on the top of the leaderboard’ and just smash it. That’s what I had in my head and I just wanted to do that.”

Hull ‘confident’ after slight equipment change

Hull’s opening round is the lowest of her LPGA Tour career, with the Englishwoman finding all 18 greens in regulation after making a slight equipment alteration ahead of the tournament.

“I kind of tweaked my driver at the beginning of the week,” Hull added. “I had Adrian from TaylorMade here and we was working on that, the new driver, and I really, really, really hit it well today.

“I felt like that [driver] put me in a lot of good positions. I putted pretty well. I chipped pretty well. I hit it pretty well with my iron shots. I don’t think I missed a green and didn’t really miss any fairways. I was hitting it good and just felt confident. Just felt good out there.”

A low-scoring morning saw Brooke Henderson card a seven-under 65 and two-time major champion Lilia Vu start with a six-under 66.

AIG Women’s Open winner Lydia Ko posted a four-under 68 and Ireland’s Leona Maguire is seven back after her two-under 70.

Watch the Ford Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Coverage continues from 10pm on Friday on Sky Sports+ and 11pm on Sky Sports Golf.