JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Amateur Amy Lee, who is competing as one of the 24 American Junior Golf Association members in the field this week at the Mizuho Americas Open, made an ace on Thursday at Liberty National Golf Club.
Lee’s tee shot hit the front right edge of the green on the signature, 137-yard 14th hole that overlooks the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan cityscape, and her ball rolled right at the hole, dropping in the cup much to the 16-year-old Canadian’s surprise as she was unable to see the shot from the tee.
“The hole-in-one was my highlight, obviously. Not many people get it,” said Lee. “It was really special because it's such a big tournament here, and I feel so honored playing with LPGA players and with such great juniors as well.
“It was around 136 I believe, and I was contemplating whether to hit a 9 or 8. With the front wind, me and my caddie decided to grab an 8, and so did like a low 8-iron. And then, according to everyone else, it landed a couple of feet away in front of the hole and rolled in. I found out because spectators were cheering on. I have really bad eyesight, so my caddie, he looked through the rangefinder. It was pretty amazing.”
Lee is making her tournament debut this week in Jersey City, N.J., and her ace earned her five points in the modified Stableford competition. She finished the first round with 35 total points at Liberty National, an effort Lee was pleased with considering the challenging conditions. But despite the difficult test that Liberty National has provided, the 16-year-old is enjoying this opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the world’s best athletes, some of whom also hail from Canada.
“I feel so honored and grateful to be here,” Lee said. “My LPGA mentor, Brooke Henderson was really nice, and she was so generous. She was talking with me while playing nine holes, and I think that really helped me ease up for the tournament. She told me not to stress too much. It's golf. Have fun out there. Golf is challenging, so it is what it is.
“Being able to see all the LPGA stick their shots like this close to the hole, it's really amazing and cool to watch. So grateful to be here.”
While Lee is competing in a separate tournament from the LPGA Tour event that’s taking place at Liberty National, CME Group will still donate $20,000 in honor of Lee’s hole-in-one to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as part of their CME Group Cares Challenge – Score 1 for St. Jude. The Challenge is a season-long charitable giving program that turns aces into donations with a minimum guaranteed donation of $500,000 to St. Jude's, which is leading the way in how the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and life-threatening diseases.
The amateur didn’t know that she would be a part of something like the CME Group Cares Challenge when her ball found the bottom of the cup on 14 on Thursday, but making a $20,000 donation to childhood cancer research made an incredible moment that much more special for the 16-year-old Lee.
“I am so grateful that I made hole-in-one today,” said Lee. “It’s always been my dream to hit a hole-in-one, and then I heard about like the charity thing. I didn't really expect it to be today, but I'm really grateful it did. I hope the money gets used for something beneficial and helpful for St. Jude's.”
Lee's ace raises the 2024 donation total to $140,000. Six other aces have been recorded this season in LPGA Tour events, most recently at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro before the first round of the Mizuho Americas Open.
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