Golf Roundup : Baugh Has a Hole in One, a 67 and a One-Stroke Lead

Laura Baugh made a hole in one on the par-3 16th hole on her way to shooting a 67 on Thursday to grab a one-stroke lead after the first round of the $225,000 LPGA Boston Five tournament at Danvers, Mass.

Baugh hit a 5-iron into the cup on the fly at the 158-yard hole at the Radisson Ferncroft Country Club. It was her fifth lifetime ace and second as a professional.

“All of my holes in one have been good shots. This one flew into the hole without hitting anything,” Baugh said.

She had just nine pars over the par-72, 6,008-yard course in the northern suburbs of Boston. Her five-under-par score also included five birdies and three bogeys on the course, which contains four of the toughest 13 holes on the women’s tour.

Baugh has finished second nine times but has never won in 12 years on the LPGA tour.

She is currently 43rd on the money list with $32,426 after playing in 14 events this year.

“This is really a shock because the last six or seven weeks I’ve played, I haven’t had round under 75,” Baugh said.

Therese Hession was alone in second place at 68. She struggled at the start with bogeys on two of the first six holes but had six birdies and eight pars to finish her round.

Tied for third at 69 were Sylvia Bertolaccini, Rosie Jones and Myra Blackwelder.

Defending champion Laurie Rinker, whose only career victory was her three-stroke triumph here, finished with a 71.

Last week’s U.S. Women’s Open champion, Kathy Baker, shot a 72.

Steve Jones and Bob Tway, first- year starters on the PGA Tour and once college competitors, each carded an eagle to tie at six-under par 64s for the lead after the first round of the $300,000 Quad Cities Open at Coal Valley, Ill.

The pair’s showing erased an early lead by Texan Dave Eichelberger, whose hole in one on the 17th, after a 20-yard chip-in on the 16th that put him two strokes off the pace at 66.

Jones, 26, a New Mexico native now living in Phoenix, said his play on the Oakwood Country Club course surprised him.

Besides his eagle 3 on the par-5 10th hole, Jones hit seven birdies and parred seven holes to offset his three bogeys on the 6,514-yard, par-70 course.