Standing on the tee at Aviara Country Club's par-3 14th on Sunday at the LPGA Kia Classic in Carlsbad, Calif., Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea had a one-shot lead over a late-charging Cristie Kerr. Any hope Kerr had of pulling off the comeback quickly faded away, though, when Ji’s 7-iron tee-shot from 166 yards went in the hole. Suddenly, Ji had has a three-shot lead and Kerr, who was playing three groups ahead of Ji, was out of holes.
Oh, and as a nice bonus, Ji's ace also secured her a new Kia Sorento.
There was, however, more golf to play, and Ji made it more intriguing when she bogeyed the 15th and 18th holes. Turns out, though, hole-in-one cushion would be enough as Ji finished with a closing 67 for a 16-under 272 total, winning by two shots over Kerr and Lizette Salas.
Given the name of the event, it won't come as a total surprise that its winner gets a new car along with the winner’s check. Ji then had become the proud owner of a new Kia Stinger, which was waiting off the 18th green.
If you weren't keeping score, that's two new cars for Ji in a two-hour span on Sunday afternoon.
Most people who manage to win a car with their golf abilities broadcast the feat to the whole world, repeatedly. But not Ji. She won two and didn’t even know it. In her excitement over her fourth career LPGA victory, she didn’t even realize she’d won both cars until she was told in her post-round interview.
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