England's Charley Hull moved back into contention at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented by PIF on Saturday despite revealing that she was kept up for nearly half the night as a result of her hotel room flooding.
With the LPGA Tour on a brief hiatus, the European Solheim Cup star is competing in the $5 million Aramco Series event on the Ladies European Tour, and Hull has put herself in a strong position to contend for the top prize at the end of three completed rounds.
She endured a tough Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - posting a two-over-par round of 74 - before responding with aplomb via scores of 67 and 68 to move to within four of leader Patty Tavatanakit in a tie for third on seven-under.
Yet, the gap between Friday and Saturday's visits to Riyadh Golf Club were not as serene as Hull might have hoped, with heavy rain and thunderstorms causing havoc to the 27-year-old's preparation.
Having gone to sleep feeling much better about her prospects, Hull was woken up just after midnight by excess water in her hotel room. Speaking to Aramco Saudi Ladies International's media team, Hull explained the timeline of events.
She said: “I had planned to do some sprints in a circuit this morning [on Saturday], but my room decided to flood – so I had to have plumbers in from 1am until 3:30am. 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."
Patty Tavatanakit lifts the 2021 ANA Inspiration trophy
Despite a strong end to an eventful past 24 hours, World No. 8 Hull remains four shots behind Thailand's Tavatanakit heading into Sunday. The 24-year-old was already in charge in Saudi Arabia, and a three-under Saturday did her prospects of scooping the $750,000 first prize no harm whatsoever.
Tavatanakit is aiming to lift her first title since winning the 2021 ANA Inspiration (now the Chevron) - a Major on the women's calendar - and says she will face the pressure head on rather than trying to ignore it.
“Honestly, you have to think about [winning], right?”, said Tavatanakit. “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.”
Germany's Esther Henseleit is in solo second on eight-under, while Hull's Solheim Cup teammate Emily Kristine Pedersen is the other player on seven-under heading into Sunday's action.
