PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif. — Major champion Danielle Kang recorded the first hole-in-one of the 2024 LPGA Tour season Thursday at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship, acing the par-3 11th hole at Palos Verdes Golf Club from 174 yards with the Her 5-iron.
It’s Kang’s fifth hole-in-one on the LPGA Tour and her first ace since bogeying the par-3 8th hole during the final round of the 2022 Honda LPGA Thailand. Although it always takes some luck to make a hole-in-one, the six-time LPGA Tour winner knew she hit it well when the ball left the face and proved correct when the ball found the bottom of the cup, much to her and the players’ surprise. her teammates.
“Sometimes it’s luck, but I absolutely cleaned it up,” Kang said. “It was 170 yards I think. I was trying to play it 160, 165 and let it run to the hole. I hit my 5-iron exactly where I wanted to hit it, and we were all looking down, and Andrea (Lee) reacted so cutely. It was like, “Oh, my God, oh, my God.” She screamed.”
It’s Kang’s 17th career ace, a number she has had significant history with throughout her golf career, both as an amateur and professional. She won the 2010 US Women’s Amateur at age 17 with a birdie on the 35th hole of the championship game, which happened to be No. 17 at Charlotte Country Club.
As a professional, Kang captured her only major title at the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and then played on the first US Solheim Cup winning team that same year.
He also had some uncanny coincidences with holes in one coming on the 17th day of the month or the 17th hole of a golf course. Even today’s ace is a little scary, considering it missed from about 170 yards.
“Seventeen is my number. It’s my lucky number,” Kang said. “I had four holes on the 17th. I had a five hole on the 17th hole. I had three holes-in-one on the 17th hole with a ball numbered 17. So much has happened with 17 that it was just my lucky number. And then I waited for a while for my 17 hole-in-one.”
With the ace, CME Group will make a $20,000 donation on Kang’s behalf to St. Mary’s Children’s Research Hospital. Jude, as part of the CME Group Cares Challenge – Score 1 for St. Jude. The Challenge is a season-long charitable giving program that turns aces into donations with a minimum guaranteed donation of $500,000 to St. Jude’s, pioneering the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and life-threatening diseases.
Kang will be honored to contribute the first $20,000 to the 2024 CME Group Cares Challenge, and while today’s hole-in-one was certainly special for many reasons, she is even happier to contribute to childhood cancer research, expressing her abundant gratitude to CME Group for the opportunity.
“I think it’s great that CME is donating to good causes and partnering with the LPGA and making a difference in people’s lives,” said the LPGA Tour veteran. “It definitely gives us a little bit more of an edge to do better and do well. No matter if it’s a dollar or a hundred (dollars), no matter the money, it could change someone’s life. I really appreciate them donating it.”