Charley Hull doubles down on caddie prank after strong start to Women’s Open

• English player’s actions called ‘extremely cruel’

• Ryu Hae-ran leads on seven-under at halfway mark

News that Charley Hull had slept for only three hours before her second round at the Women’s Open fuelled an obvious conclusion. With noisy fallout continuing from the 30-year-old’s prank on her caddie, it was assumed to be affecting her off the course. Not so, as it transpired. In typically emphatic style, Hull urged those who cannot accept criticism to “grow a pair of balls” after signing for a resilient 71 at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

After Hull tricked her bag man Adam Woodward into believing he had won £100,000 from a fake scratchcard, some of the reaction was fierce. Laura Davies, one of the greats of women’s golf, called Hull’s actions “extremely cruel”. After round one at Lytham, Hull told her detractors to “loosen up”. That, too, fuelled castigation of the Englishwoman. Rather than back down, she has doubled down.

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