Gaby Lopez yesterday hit a 167m hole-in-one as she surged into the lead of the US$2.1 million Blue Bay LPGA in China to celebrate her birthday in style.
The Mexican’s ace on the par-three 17th hole helped her leapfrog world No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn on Hainan Island.
Lopez — ranked 136th — is in pole position for her first title on the US-based LPGA Tour with one round to play.
Her feat was all the more satisfying, because it was her 25th birthday and she had turned around after making the tee shot, appearing not to know what she had accomplished until her caddie gleefully told her.
It was high fives all round, including with overnight leader Jutanugarn.
“As soon as the ball left the club I knew it was a good shot, but I couldn’t see because the sun was in my face,” Lopez said. “I turned around and my caddie goes: ‘It went in.’ I’m like: ‘No way.’”
“I couldn’t give myself a better birthday present,” said Lopez, who was presented afterward with two cakes.
Lopez, who was joint second going into the third round, carded a six-under-par 66 to go nine-under for the tournament, a one-shot lead on Thailand’s Jutanugarn.
The South Korean pair of Park Sung-hyun and Kim Sei-young were tied of third on a distant four-under after carding a 67 and 68 respectively.
Moriya Jutanugarn, Ariya’s sister, fell from second overnight to a share of seventh after a disappointing 74.
Taiwan’s Chien Pei-yun edged ahead two places to 37th after carding a 72 to finish five-over, while Hsu Wei-ling slipped to 54th on nine-over after hitting a 76.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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