Major champion Sophia Popov scores spectacular ace at the 2024 US Women's Open

Sophia Popov, the 31-year-old golfer, pulled off one of the most spectacular plays of the first round of the 2024 US Women's Open. The German major champion hit an ace on the 8th hole at Lancaster Golf Club.

The par-3 hole that Sophia Popov made her hole-in-one on is 205 yards long. Using a wood, Popov struck the green on her tee shot, landing the ball 20 feet in front of the hole and it went straight in.

Popov became the 31st player to record an ace in the history of the U.S. Women's Open. In addition, her hole-in-one was the 33rd to be achieved in the event. Jennifer Kupcho and Lydia Ko are the two only players competing in the 2024 US Open field who have scored aces in previous editions of the event. Ko got hers in 2019, while Kupcho achieved the feat in 2021.

This eagle represented Sophia Popov's current round score of two under. The German had two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey (in addition to the eagle on the 8th) to finish the round with a score of 2 over.

Popov started the round on hole one, making par on the first two holes. She then bogeyed the 3rd, parred three in a row, birdied the seventh and eagled the 8th. She then closed the front nine with a bogey on the 9th to turn in 1 under.

The back nine proved more challenging for Popov, as she bogeyed the 10th and double bogeyed the 12th (the same hole where Nelly Korda carded 10). Popov completed the day by getting birdie on the 13th and bogey on the 17th.

Sophia Popov's 2024 season at a glance

Popov was out of competitive activity for all of 2023, as she welcomed her first child last June. In 2024, she resumed her professional career and has played seven LPGA Tour tournaments and one Ladies European Tour tournament.

Popov played in the Aramco Team Series in Tampa to kick off her 2024 season. There, she finished T44.

The German missed the cut in each of her first six starts of the year on the LPGA Tour. Her first missed cut came two weeks ago at the Mizuho Americas Open, where she finished T14 with a score of 8 under.

This tournament marks Povov's fifth appearance at the US Women's Open. She had passed two cuts in four prior editions, with her best finish coming in T40 in 2020. Overall, she has competed in eighteen major championship events. Her sole Top 10 finish came from winning the 2020 Women's British Open. She has made nine cuts overall.