Leona Maguire leads Aramco London event; Charley Hull WDs after ‘nasty fall’

After the first two rounds of the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series London event, Leona Maguire and Georgia Hall find themselves at the top of the leaderboard at the Centurion Club.

Maguire shot a 72 during Thursday’s second round and sits at 8 under for the tournament with 18 holes to play, while Hall’s second consecutive 70 puts her two shots off the pace heading into Friday’s final round.

But an equally important storyline comes from the players who pulled out of the tournament, two under bizarre and unfortunate circumstances.

First, World No. 1 Nelly Korda said she was bitten by a dog in Seattle via Instagram a week after missing a third straight cut for the first time in her career.

“I regret to announce that I must withdraw from next week’s Ladies European Tour tournament in London,” Korda wrote. “I was bitten by a dog and need time to receive treatment and recover fully.”

The previous week, Korda carded a surprising 81 on Friday of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club and she was scheduled to appear in the LET event, which she won last year by four strokes.

And then, during the opening round of the event, Charley Hull — the No. 8 player in the current Rolex Rankings — also pulled out, although she did so after six holes of play.

On her Instagram, Hull said she suffered a “nasty fall” prior to the tournament.

“I had to withdraw from @aramcoteamseries London following medical advice, due to ongoing pain in my right shoulder following a nasty fall on Sunday night. I’m so disappointed as I always love playing in this series, particularly in front of a home crowd,” she said.

“Sorry to the fans who came out to watch, my playing partners for leaving you after 6 holes, and to all.”

Hull has gone viral a few times over the last month or so for smoking cigarettes during LPGA tournaments.

At the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this month, there was a video that did its trip around social media showing Hull signing autographs for fans while smoking.