The second round of the 2024 JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro was marked by two remarkable aces at Wilshire Country Club. Alexa Pano showed off her skills with a hole-in-one on the 12th hole from 175 yards with a 6-iron in the morning wave. Meanwhile, LPGA Tour rookie Auston Kim stole the show in her stunning tournament debut with an ace on the 18th hole from 135 yards with a pitching wedge.
It is the sixth ace of the LPGA Tour season and the third in two rounds at the JM Eagle LA Championship. The 2023 Epson Tour Graduate shot an even-par 71 and is currently in a tie for fifth with Emily Kristine Pedersen.
"It was my first ever hole-in-one. Very cool that I can finally say I have a hole-in-one now," said the 23-year-old Kim. "I was trying to hit about a 128 shot into 18 green, and (it) just landed perfectly up front. Bounces a couple of times, rolled and went in. It was awesome. It was really cool.”
With Kim's hole-in-one, CME Group will donate $20,000 to CME Group Cares Challenge – Score 1 for St. Jude. The season-long charitable giving program turns aces into donations with a minimum guaranteed donation of $500,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The LPGA Tour rookie's ace has now raised the 2024 donation total to $120,000, and Kim joins fellow American Pano and Republic of Korea native Jeongeun Lee5 as the third player to make an ace in the early rounds in Los Angeles, Calif.
While the hole-out was a nice exclamation point on her opening nine, Kim was just as excited for it to happen during a competition round, nearly knocking over her caddie, Sarah Bowman, in her celebration.
"Very cool. Again, everything, so many people watching, and I love playing in front of crowds," said Kim. “Of course, there are nerves involved, but it's always fun to embrace the moment. I just tried to hit the best possible shot I could. It was a really awesome moment, and I'll never forget it."
🚨 ACE ALERT 🚨
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 26, 2024
Auston Kim cards the second ace of the week on 18 and has the best celly 🥳🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZAXS1PpJ3m
)
)
)
)
