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South Korean Jeon Ji-won had a hole-in-one to reach a six-under par 64 and share the lead with England’s Charley Hull before darkness interrupted Thursday’s first round of the LPGA tournament Annika.
Jeon aced the 182-yard par-3 third hole at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.
“I hit it and I saw that one bounce and then it went in the hole,” she said. “It was really cool to see the hole-in-one go in.”
It was his fourth hole-in-one. The first was two years ago and the other three this season, one last month in Shanghai and the other in August in Portland, where she shared ninth place for her only top 10 finish. of the LPGA.
“I didn’t even really try to make the hole-in-one,” she said of her ace-making spree. “I just see a target and let the environment do the rest.”
She became the first LPGA player since American Danielle Kang in 2014 to record three aces in one season.
South Korea’s Lee Mi-Hyang and Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh shared third place with 65. Top-ranked Nelly Korda was in the fifth-place group with 65 when night fell with 13 players missing. having not yet completed their first round, none of them among the top 20.
Jeon, a back nine starter, birdied the par-3 12th, the par-5 14th and the par-4 17th before closing her front nine with a bogey at the 18th but responding with a birdie at the first.
After his ace, Jeon responded to a bogey at the fifth with birdies at the six and the par-5 seventh.
Hull, also teeing off on the 10th tee, opened with a birdie, added back-to-back birdies at the 14th and a par-3 at the 15th and followed a bogey at the 17th with birdies at the 18th and one before sharing the lead thanks to back -to-return birdies at seven and eight o’clock.
The world number 12, who has two LPGA titles, won her fourth title on the women’s European Tour – and first in three years – two weeks ago in Riyadh.
“I feel like I’ve played really well all year,” Hull said. “I felt very confident and cool when I won. Sometimes you just forget how to win, so this reminded me how to win.”
– Korda ‘a little rusty’ –
Korda was returning to competition after a neck injury sidelined her last month.
“I definitely felt a little rusty, maybe a little nervous the first couple of holes,” Korda said. “It sucks to be hurt.”
The American was tied for 66th with Norwegian Céline Borge, American Cheyenne Knight, Swede Maja Stark, Australian Minjee Lee and Spaniard Carlota Ciganda.
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