Eun-Hee Ji delivered one of the great holes-in-one in LPGA history Sunday at the Kia Classic.
Shortly after Cristie Kerr birdied to move with a shot of Ji’s lead at Aviara Golf Club, Ji answered as emphatically as a player can.
With a 7-iron in hand, Ji stepped to the 14th tee and aced the hole from 166 yards.
Ji walked away with two Kia automobiles at day’s end, both Sorentos.
“Oh really?” Ji said. “I didn’t know.”
She knew she won a Kia car for making the hole in one, and she didn’t know she won another to go with her $270,000 first-place check.
Ji closed out with a 5-under-par 67 to finish at 16 under overall, two shots ahead of Kerr (68) and Lizette Salas (69).
Full-field scores from the Kia Classic
“You make an ace in the final round when you’re leading, or tied for the lead, you’re going to win,” Kerr said.
The victory gives Ji momentum in a bid to try to win her second major championship next week at the ANA Inspiration. She won the U.S. Women’s Open in 2009, her second LPGA title, but she waited eight years to win again on tour. She won the Swinging Skirts Taiwan Championship last fall. That’s two victories in her last eight starts now.
Ji won Sunday with laser ball-striking. She hit every green in regulation and missed just one fairway.