Monday qualifier Mariah Stackhouse made the fifth hole-in-one of the 2023 LPGA Tour season on Friday at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer. Stackhouse aced the par-3 7th hole at the Bay Course at Seaview, a Dolce Hotel, hitting a 3 hybrid from 185 yards.
“Took a nice smooth swing. It was a perfect shot. Couldn't see it. They said it was going straight at the hole, it felt good, so I was like, all right, great. May be a birdie opportunity,” said Stackhouse of her first hole-in-one on the LPGA Tour. Then we saw some of the guys down at the green doing some weird motions and I was like, I hope they're not saying it went in the bunker but we just couldn't tell. We're walking up and they start clapping and I'm like, okay, it's not in the bunker. They're like, it's in the hole. We were just like, that's awesome.”
With Stackhouse’s hole out, CME will donate $20,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as part of their CME Group Cares Challenge – Score 1 for St. Jude, a season-long charitable giving program that turns aces into donations with a minimum guaranteed donation of $500,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is leading the way in how the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and life-threatening diseases.
The 2023 donation total is now at $100,000, and while the ace was certainly exciting for Stackhouse, she was more thrilled about getting to help a child in need with the $20,000 contribution.
“That’s awesome,” she said. “Man, definitely makes a hole-in-one that much more special to know that it's going to help children in need. That's what I love to hear.”
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