Jodi Ewart Shadoff was joking about her tee shot on No. 12 at the Kroger Queen City Championship on Friday to quell her anxiety about the attempt, moments before it went in.
She also had no idea when it did, what it meant for her standing on the LPGA’s list of players with most all-time hole-in-ones.
Regardless of the lead up to the result — or the delayed reaction to it, Friday’s second round was a day worthy of celebration for Ewart Shadoff.
The 38-year-old English native shot a 4-under 66 and moved into a tie for 10th place at Maketewah Country Club. She’s also now second all-time in that aforementioned list of players with most aces on the LPGA Tour at 7.
“It’s funny because we were stood on the 11th green and I said to my caddie, ‘I have no idea how I’m going to get it close on the next tee shot’ and he was like, ‘Well, you can just hit the pin,’” Ewart Shadoff recalled to reporters after the round.
“We laughed it off, and I hit really, really good shot,” she added. “It landed like in the walkway and went up and hit the pin and went in. It was funny.”
Ewart Shadoff, who last won at the 2022 Mediheal Championship, expected to lay up on the right front edge on the green.
“The kick that it took, kind of took a left kick, so I thought it was going to be in the middle of the green to be honest,” she said. “Wasn’t expecting that.”
‘Sign, sealed, delivered’
She revealed to reporters that while it was her seventh ace since joining the Tour in 2011, she has 17 to her name during her career.
Her first came at the British Amateur in 2006.
“I was 18, and it’s funny because — my college coach at the time — it was the first hole-in-one she ever watched and she was in the middle of recruiting me at the time, so kind of was a sign, sealed, delivered kind of moment,” Ewart Shadoff said. “There has been so many obviously since then, but that one definitely sticks out in my mind.”
Standing through adversity
Ewart Shadoff revealed how difficult the last few years have been for her since winning the Mediheal. She cited several injuries that were “mentally hard to come back from.”
But she said she’s in a good place this year, and noted finishing inside the top 10 in Mayakoba two weeks ago as something she’d like to repeat this week in Cincinnati.
“I had a really good offseason where I just kind of fell back in love with the game again. Working with my whole team, coaches, and just kind of seeing the improvements day by day, it’s been nice,” she said.
“I struggled a little bit with anxiety on the golf course which has been hard the last year, year and a half. I think I’ve kind of gotten past that,” she added. “And going back to Q-School last year was kind of like a humbling time for me. You know, kind of showed me that worst case scenario happened and I got through it and I’m still here. You know, it kind of lightens the load a little bit.”