Matthews fires magical ace at Maybank Championship

American golfer Brooke Matthews achieved a remarkable hole-in-one during the Maybank Championship second round at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club on Friday. She utilized a nine-iron from 132 yards on the par-three fourth hole, hitting the ball towards a challenging uphill green. The audience's enthusiastic roar confirmed Matthews had indeed scored the impressive feat. She explained, "I couldn't see it. I was a little bit uphill, but luckily there were people by the green who were cheering it on and it went in."

Matthews' hole-in-one followed a bogey on the par-five third hole, providing the necessary momentum to complete her round successfully. She commented, "It was a good pick-me-up. I just made a bogey on the par-five, and so to get that kind of gave me what I needed to go finish the round."

While Matthews noted that the hole-in-one was not as thrilling as her previous one on the LPGA Tour, which secured her a luxury sports car lease, the significance of this feat was far greater. The LPGA Tour's CME Group Cares Challenge triggers a $20,000 (RM87,000) donation to St Jude Children's Research Hospital for every hole-in-one. Matthews emphasized that contributing to this cause was more meaningful than any personal reward. She finished her round with a one-under 71, tying her at 65th place on 146.