Two more holes-in-one were made on Sunday at the Maybank Championship, bringing the event total to a whopping five aces, the first time since the 2019 Buick LPGA Shanghai that five or more holes-in-one were recorded in a single event on the LPGA Tour.

Spaniard Carlota Ciganda carded the 25th ace of the 2024 LPGA Tour season during the final round in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, holing her tee shot on the par-3 11th hole from 121 yards with her pitching wedge to card the fourth hole-in-one of the tournament. The ace is the first hole-in-one the 34-year-old has recorded on the LPGA Tour since joining the organization in 2012, but it was the fifth time she has made one in her lifetime.

“It was my second hole this morning,” explained Ciganda. “I had 111 meters, so for me, that's almost between a 50 and a pitching wedge. I chose to hit the pitching wedge because the pin was at the front. I didn't hit it great, and it just bounced once and went straight into the hole. I was playing to hit a couple over the pin, but I guess I was a little lucky, and sometimes those things happen.”

Her hole-in-one was part of a final-round, 3-under 69 that Ciganda posted on Sunday at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, and she ultimately finished in a tie for 56th in the second edition of the Maybank Championship at 4-under overall.

Chinese Taipei native Wei-Ling Hsu also made a hole-in-one on the 11th hole on day four in Malaysia, dunking it with her 8-iron on the 121-yard par 3. Like Ciganda, it was the first time that Hsu had made a hole-in-one since becoming an LPGA Tour member in 2015, and it was something that Hsu didn’t know if she would ever actually achieve in her time competing on the LPGA.

“When we got to that hole, it was really into the wind, so it was like a 120 kind of shot,” said Hsu. “But all of a sudden, the wind is strong, really, really strong, stronger than the past four days. We first of all think about like 125, but it feel like really, really strong, so me and my caddie decided to hit a 135 shot with the 8-iron.

“As soon as I hit it, it landed perfectly. I never had a hole-in-one on the LPGA, so I just feel like that is not my thing. Even though the ball was really, really close, I still don't feel like it will make it. So, when I see the ball disappear, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I actually got my first hole-in-one on the LPGA.’”

Hsu capped off the Maybank Championship with a 4-under 68 to finish in a tie for sixth at 15-under for the tournament, her first top-10 result on Tour since she tied for eighth at the Dow Championship in June.

Both Ciganda and Hsu’s holes-in-one will see a $20,000 donation made by CME Group on their behalf to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as part of the season-long CME Group Cares Challenge – Score 1 for St. Jude campaign. There have now been 26 holes-in-one this season on the LPGA Tour, and the 2024 donation total has reached $520,000, surpassing the $500,000 minimum guaranteed donation for St. Jude.

As LPGA Tour veterans, Ciganda and Hsu know that CME Group turns aces into donations for childhood cancer research, and both were delighted to be able to contribute to the cause with their holes-in-one on the final day in Malaysia.

“It’s so happy to be part of it, and that actually my good performance can help somebody,” Hsu said. “It's definitely mean more than just a hole-in-one.”

Ciganda felt the same. “I’m very happy to contribute to a great cause,” said Ciganda. “Always happy to help those people in need. Very happy for that.”

Carlota Ciganda, Wei-Ling Hsu Card 25th, 26th Aces of 2024 Season on Sunday in Malaysia

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