Emma Talley made a “1” on the par-3 2nd hole Friday in the second round of the Amundi Evian Championship in Evian-les-bains, France.
Besides being a rarity, the hole-in-one held significance in that it helped Talley make the cut to play the weekend right on the number.
After back-to-back rounds of 2-over-par 73, Talley is at 4-over overall, which is the magic number to play this weekend in what is one of five major events on the LPGA Tour.
Talley started her second round on the back nine, and appeared to be on her way out of the tournament when she went bogey, double bogey, bogey on Nos. 13, 14 and 15. That left her at 6-over-par overall and on the wrong side of the projected cutline.
Still at 6-over after making the turn, Talley came up with her second ace on the LPGA Tour in less than a year to get back in the running to play the weekend. (Talley also recorded a hole-in-one last August in the CP Women’s Open in Ottawa.)
According to the LPGA, Talley hit her pitching wedge 153 yards on the par-3 2nd hole at Evian Resort Golf Club.
“Might as well have bought a lottery ticket. I’ve been holing out a lot this year,” said Talley, who holed out from the fairway for an eagle last week during the final round of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.
“It’s like the basic hole, the hole that everyone loves to see, we all posted at the beginning of the week. I hit a pitching wedge and it was perfect. Soon as I hit it I said, ‘Go in the hole,’ and it did. I’m glad my ball is listening to me.”
Talley parred her final seven holes Friday and was one of six golfers to make the cut tied for 65th. Only the top 65 and ties get to play the final two rounds.
Talley’s third round on Saturday will begin at 8:39 a.m. in France or 1:39 a.m. early Saturday here in the Central time zone.
With Talley’s hole-in-one, 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. Friday’s ace raises the 2023 donation total to $160,000.
