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Jeeno Thitikul has birdied the par-three 12th at Royal Porthcawl as she continues an impressive opening round.

Thitikul moves to three under.

Charley Hull and Minjee Lee both settle for par.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales at Royal Porthcawl

Darcey Harry was at Royal Portrush earlier this month, cheering on boyfriend Jacob Skov Olesen as he shared the lead after round one of The Open.

This week it will be Olesen in the supporting role as rising Welsh golf star Harry makes her AIG Women's Open debut at Royal Porthcawl.

But Olesen will not be backing Harry, 22, from behind the ropes.

The Dane is to caddie for his partner, just as he did when the Ladies European Tour (LET) rookie claimed a memorable victory at Belgium's Hulencourt Women's Open in June.

"Originally I was going to caddie for myself for a little bit, but then my boyfriend had an off-week that week [in Belgium] so I said 'you can come and push my bag'," Harry explained.

"The first time he caddied for me, we won, so that was a really nice moment to share with him.

"I think I learned a lot from him being on my bag. I don't think I would have been able to do it without him."

• Read more here

We'll continue to bring you the latest out on the links at Royal Porthcawl, but we'll also be spending the next hour or so building up to the first appearances of some of the big favourites to win this year's Women's Open.

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Charley Hull finished as the runner-up behind Lilia Vu at Walton Heath in 2023 and a major title continues to evade one of the most recognisable players in women's golf.

She was forced to pull out of the Evian Championship earlier this month because she was "battling a virus", and the gym obsession has had to take a back because she needs her "immune system to catch up".

Speaking to BBC Sport before the Women's Open, Hull said: "I don't train for golf, I train to keep my body and mind fit. I've no interest in doing it for golf. I just do it for myself, as a hobby, trying to beat my own fitness goals."

When asked to clarify what golf training entails, Hull replied: "I'm not on about training as in chipping and putting. I can do that for hours all day. It's all this boring movement stuff I've been doing since I was 14. It's just not for me."

• Read more from BBC Sport's Peter Scrivener

American Andrea Lee briefly goes into the lead after Japan's Chisato Iwai drops a shot, but then finds the bunker on the tricky 14th and ends up bogeying as well to move back to three under.

Lee and Iwai are in a group of seven players sharing the lead, including Shiho Kuwaki. The Japanese player has just finished her round of 69 with a birdie at the last to take the clubhouse lead.

Image source, Getty Images

After a brief pause Charley Hull is back on the birdie trail. She putts in another birdie at the par-three 11th to move within a shot of the lead.

Her playing partner Minjee Lee also birdies the hole to move to two under as well.

This tight group are pushing each other along.

BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3

You can listen to radio commentary of all four rounds of the Women's Open on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3 - click on the link at the top of this page to listen alongside our text updates.

American Andrea Lee is on a roll now. She's just birdied again to join Japan's Chisato Iwai at the top of the leaderboard.

Here's how things are looking at the top at the moment:

• -4 Iwai (14), A Lee (13)
• -3 Saigo (16)
• -2 Kuwaki (17), SY Kim (15), Yang (13), Stark (11), Thitikul (11), Zhang (10), Kouskova (6)

Andrew Richards
BBC Sport Wales at Royal Porthcawl

Image source, Getty Images

There’s confidence in Charley Hull’s stride as she marches up to the 10th green.

She gives herself a good look at birdie but finally she misses one and must settle for a par to remain at one-under.

Not bad going considering how she started this morning.

Last year's PGA champion Amy Yang is finding her groove. The South Korean goes into red with a birdie at the 12th, to move to one under par.

Yang's in a formidable group with American Andrea Lee who pars to stay on three under, and Irish golfer Leona Maguire who also pars to stay on one over.

Andrew Richards
BBC Sport Wales at Royal Porthcawl

Image source, Getty Images

The birdie train keeps on chugging for Charley Hull!

Her approach to the ninth green left her just to the left of the green in two and she gets up and down to move to one under par at the turn.

There's a big crowd following Hull and they’re getting a treat at the moment.

A rollercoaster front nine from Charley Hull ends with a fourth consecutive birdie at the ninth.

Hull has gone one under for the first time today, having been three over after three.

Jeeno Thitikul's putter has also heated up in improving weather as she makes her third birdie to move to two under.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales at Royal Porthcawl

When the Senior Open was held at Royal Porthcawl in 2023, the flaws of ageing waterproofs were exposed as umbrellas turned inside out.

Weather conditions were dreadful for fans and players for much of that tournament, when the best finishing score was five over par.

So far at least, it is a different story this week, with the scoring reflecting as much.

Do they sell sun cream in the pro shop?

The first three-ball of the day have completed their opening rounds at Royal Porthcawl.

Germany's Sophia Popov, the 2020 champion, hit the first shot of the tournament but she is currently at the back of the field after carding a 10-over-par round of 82.

A bogey on the last denied Singapore's Shannon Tan a level-par score, while England's Cara Gainer went round in two over par.

They took about four and a half hours to complete their first rounds.

Image source, Getty Images

Shortly before she teed up off Charley Hull reflected on her cameo in Happy Gilmore 2, released last week, which she has now watched.

"It was really fun to be in. Adam Sandler is a legend," Hull said.

"It wasn't like meeting a film star but just like meeting a normal person down a working men's club in the town. I like someone if they are just like a normal person and down to earth and that's what he was."

Japan's Chisato Iwai moves to the top of a leaderboard. She is still yet to card a bogey in her round and she is all alone at four under par.

There's a sibling rivalry about to unfold at Royal Porthcawl as her twin sister, Akie, starts her first round at 11:48 BST.

Thankfully, the greens have appeared to be fish free so far!

Andrew Richards
BBC Sport Wales at Royal Porthcawl

Three in a row for Charley Hull!

This one seemed to take an age to drop but just trickles into the hole to a booming reception. “Go on Charley!” is the shout from the crowd as she gets back to even par for the day.

World number two Jeeno Thitikul also makes birdie to move to one under par.

Boom! Brilliant from Charley Hull.

She is on the march after notching her third consecutive birdie at Royal Porthcawl.

A dead-weight putt at eight slides into the hole and Hull powers back to evens, having been three over after three.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live's preview of the 2025 Women's Open via the "Watch and listen" tab at the top of this page or on BBC Sounds.