The final round of the Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl has delivered one of the most extraordinary moments in modern major history after the English golfer Mimi Rhodes produced a hole-in-one which bore remarkable resemblance to an in-off snooker shot.
Australia’s Steph Kyriacou had already hit her shot to within inches of the hole at the 184-yard 5th when Rhodes stepped on to the tee. The 23-year-old’s iron shot bounced from the front of the green towards the hole. The ball duly kissed off that of Kyriacou and into the bottom of the cup for an ace.
“Did that go in?!” a stunned Rhodes asked. The episode was even more remarkable because Kyriacou had already made a hole-in-one at Porthcawl, at the 8th during round two. This was Rhodes’s second ace of the season. It is unclear what she will give Kyriacou as a thanks for the assist.
The incredible moment conjured memories of Louis Oosthuizen and the 2016 Masters, where the South African made a hole-in-one at the 16th in similar style. Oosthuizen’s ball was diverted towards the hole via that of JB Holmes.
Rhodes and Kyriacou later revealed they had no clue about the exact chain of events at the time. “I hit a really good eight-iron, right where I wanted it to,” said Rhodes. “I wasn’t expecting it to go in, so I just picked up my tee and I heard everyone going crazy 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.”
Kyriacou therefore avoided a penalty for not replacing her ball to the original spot before tapping in for a two, on the basis she was similarly unaware. “I’m kind of claiming it, even though Mimi is probably not going to say that,” she added.
