LANCASTER, Pa. — Major champion and LPGA Mom Sophia Popov made the second hole-in-one of her LPGA Tour career on Thursday in the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally.
The 31-year-old aced the par-3 8th hole from 205 yards with a 5-wood, a spectacular golf shot that was the highlight of a challenging morning for the 156-player field at Lancaster Country Club. In between clubs, her husband and caddie this week, Max Mehles, encouraged her to go with the longer of the two she was deciding betwixt, wise advice that paid off in a big way for Popov.
“It was kind of a little bit in between a 4-hybrid and a 5-wood for me,” explained Popov. “It was 209, I think, and you want to stay short, and then Max said to me, ‘In order to get it there, you're going to have to hit 5-wood.’ I hit a perfect 5-wood, and it was tracking the whole way. Amelia Garvey, she said, ‘Drinks!’ when it was still in the air, and I was like, ‘She jinxed it.’ It ended up going in. Pretty wild. Cool hole.”
Popov last recorded a hole-in-one during the third round of the Women’s Scottish Open in 2018, also acing the par-3 8th hole at Gullane. Today’s ace was the 34th hole-in-one in U.S. Women’s Open history, and Popov’s hole-in-one was the first since In Gee Chun, who won the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club, aced the par-3 5th hole at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
And while having a one on the scorecard and all the accolades and attention is nice, it meant much more to Popov that her nearly one-year-old daughter Maya Mehles was in the gallery watching her compete.
“It's already a cool week regardless of what happens,” said Popov, who became an LPGA Mom last June. “I love U.S. Women’s Open week no matter how I play. If you make a hole-in-one, it's just something memorable. Obviously, we're going to keep the ball and something to tell my daughter who was there. She didn't like the noise, but she was there.”
The LPGA Tour winner made one double bogey, four bogeys and two birdies in addition to her hole-in-one in the first round, an effort that saw her card a 2-over 72 on day one in Lancaster, Pa. With 54 more holes of difficult golf coming up, Popov knows that it’s going to take more solid play if she wants to contend for another major title come Sunday at the U.S. Women’s Open.
But no matter what happens during the next three rounds, the Germany native will always have that Thursday moment on No. 8 to hang on to, and Popov is just hoping to continue playing good golf in front of emphatic crowds at Lancaster Country Club.
“I have to say, the amount of spectators that have been coming out every day since Monday has been amazing,” Popov said. “The U.S. (Women’s) Open is always such a thrill because of it. It's always more people and good golf courses. It's nice to be playing in front of people and get some cheers, and so I think that was exciting to get that roar on No. 8.”
The moment 💥@SophiaCPopov drained this ace with her 5-wood pic.twitter.com/FEOQjyKJ5t
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 30, 2024
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