Mexico’s Lopez hits birthday ace to grab LPGA lead

Gaby Lopez hit a 183-yard hole-in-one as she surged into the lead of the $2.1mn Blue Bay LPGA in China to celebrate her birthday in style yesterday.The Mexican’s ace on the par-three 17th hole helped her leapfrog world number one Ariya Jutanugarn on Hainan island and Lopez — ranked a lowly 136th — is in pole position for her first title on the US-based LPGA Tour with one round to play.Lopez’s feat was all the more satisfying because it was her 25th birthday and she had turned around after making the tee shot, not appearing to know what she had accomplished until her caddie gleefully told her. Cue high fives all round, including with overnight leader Jutanugarn. “As soon as the ball left the club I knew it was a good shot, but I couldn’t see because the sun was in my face,” Lopez said. “I turned around and my caddie goes, ‘It went in.’ I’m like, ‘No way!’”A cameraman confirmed the ball had rolled straight in. “I couldn’t give myself a better birthday present,” said Lopez, who was presented afterwards with two cakes. Lopez, who was joint second going into the third round, carded a six-under-par 66 to go nine under for the tournament, a one-shot lead on Thailand’s Jutanugarn. The South Korean pair of Park Sung-hyun and Kim Sei-young were tied third on a distant four under. Moriya Jutanugarn, Ariya’s sister, fell from tied second overnight to a share of seventh after a disappointing 74.Tiger expects strong field for Hero ChallengeTiger Woods will launch his 2018-19 competitive season later this month at the Hero World Challenge which he will be headlining along with world number one Justin Rose. The Hero World Challenge field features players from six countries and includes four of the top five and 16 of the top 23 players in the world, Woods announced on Thursday.Two exemptions will be issued at a later date to round out the 18-player field. The invitational event runs from November 29 to December 2 and will be held in the Bahamas for the fourth straight year.Tournament host Woods launched the Hero Challenge with his father in 1999. It will be the first official competition for the 14-time major winner Woods since the the US lost to Europe in the Ryder Cup in September.Woods finished a woeful 0-4 at the Ryder Cup taking his all-time record in the event to 13-21-3. The former world number one, who is ranked 13th in the world, will take on Phil Mickelson on November 23 in a one-on-one exhibition in Las Vegas for $9mn. Woods won the Tour Championship in September, his first PGA Tour win since August 2013.