There is more than one way to make a hole-in-one.
And Sunday’s final round of the AIG Women’s Open served up an ace unlike any in recent memory.
It happened on the 5th hole at Royal Porthcawl in Wales, a 214-yard par-3 where Mimi Rhodes of England pulled off a shot that would have made a billiard player proud. Rhodes’ playing partner, Stephanie Kyriacou, had already struck a beauty of her own, leaving her ball just inches from the cup.
“Follow that, Mimi Rhodes,” on-course reporter Karen Stupples said on the television broadcast.
Okay. Why not?
Rhodes flushed her tee shot, which landed on the front of the green, hopped, rolled and banked off Kyriacou’s ball into the cup.
“I hit a really good 8-iron, hit it right where I wanted too,” Rhodes said. “I wasn’t expecting it to go in, so I just picked up my tee and I heard everyone going crazy. Extra loud than usual, so I knew something had happened. Then we just walked up to the green and it was in the hole. I had no idea it hit Steph’s ball until I just saw the video, so that’s unbelievable.”
Her partner was equally surprised.
“I’m kind of claiming it,” Kyriacou joked. “Even though Mimi is probably not going to say that.”
Combined, the two women played the 5th in three shots. Not bad. But not quite good enough. Rhodes and Kyriacou finished the tournament T19 and T8, respectively, behind eventual winner Miyu Yamashita.