There are clean even par rounds, and then there are chaotic, roller-coaster like even par rounds. LPGA pro Angel Yin’s even par 72 in the opening round of the Lotte Championship would fall squarely in the latter category.
Yin, 20, began her round on the back nine at Ko Olina Golf Club in Oahu, Hawaii, opening with three consecutive bogeys before making her first birdie of the round at the par-5 13th. Two holes later, she worked it back to even par with one of the craziest, and luckiest, eagles you’ll see all season. After a big drive, Yin had just a flip wedge into the 15th green, which meant she’d be the last in her group to hit. Pernilla Lindberg, one of her playing partners, had already knocked one in close, which ended up benefitting Yin in a big way. Watch Yin’s ball bank off Lindberg’s and find the cup in this mesmerizing video that you’ll likely need to watch five times before you can tell it’s Yin’s ball that goes in:
https://twitter.com/Wrong_Fairway/status/1118865441806483457
Just to be clear, this tweet is sarcastic. I know that seems obvious, but if you spend enough time on Twitter, you’ll notice that people have trouble picking up on what’s sarcastic and what isn’t. No, this is not “backstopping.”
Anyway, what a wild ricochet, which at first looks like it hits in Lindberg’s ball. If that were the case, Lindberg would have to replace her ball back where it was, while Yin would have gotten an unfortunate break. But it was Yin’s ball that went in, which by rule is allowed and counts as an eagle, and Lindberg gets to replace her ball back where it was. Everybody wins.
Does this shot remind you of anyone? It should …
Still the craziest instance of a player hitting another player’s ball and going in ever. Oosthuizen’s looked like it had come to a complete stop before continuing to roll into the cup. These shots are so rare that the most recent one you can find before Yin’s and Oosthuizen’s is ….. Leif Olson’s from the 2009 RBC Canadian Open?
Wait, we found another! Zach Johnson did it from a bunker at the 2017 Arnold Palmer Invitational:
Louis Oosthuizen, Zach Johnson, Angel Yin, Leif Olson. What a club. Yin wound up giving the eagle right back a few holes later at the 18th with a double bogey, but her two-under 34 on the front nine gave her an even-par 72. What a wild round.
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