Here’s why Kristen Gillman’s second ace as a pro was similar to her first

The temperatures got so steamy during the second round of the LPGA’s Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club that play was suspended for two hours.

There were no such delays during the third round of action, but the highlights were just as hot as the first two rounds with a trio of aces on the 4th hole pushing

Maybank Championship: Scoreboard

Although young guns Jeeno Thitikul, Ruoning Yin and Haeran Ryu — all under 24 years old — lead the way heading into the final round at 16 under, Kristen Gillman, Anna Nordqvist and Emily Pedersen garnered the biggest roars as each made a hole-in-one.

For Gillman, it was just her second as a pro, but it shared something in common with the first.

“Yeah, I had 100, well, with the elevation it was like 101 yards,” Gillman explained. “Hit my gap wedge. Usually stops like 105, so I just took a little bit off that. I guess  I just watched the video. I couldn’t see it because it’s a little bit elevated, but I guess it took two bounces and went in. So the crowd started screaming, so kind of knew it went in.”

“That was only my second one. My other one was in South Korea, so I guess I only make them in Asia.”

ACE ALERT @kristengillman aces the 4th hole at @maybankchampion! pic.twitter.com/D0zIqvuqjS

— LPGA (@LPGA) October 26, 2024

With every ace at this week’s event, a $20,000 donation is being made to St. Jude’s, so the short hole produced $60,000 in one round.

“That’s awesome,” Gillman said. “I think that any way we can give back, feel like that’s something easy that we can do, so hopefully we keep hitting good shots and keep making hole-in-ones in so we can keep donating more money.”