Singapore golfer Shannon Tan scores ‘surreal’ hole-in-one, makes cut at Women’s PGA C’ship

SINGAPORE – There was double delight for Singaporean golfer Shannon Tan on June 26, when she scored her first hole-in-one at a Major and made the cut at the Women’s PGA Championship.

In the second round of the US$13 million (S$16.8 million) tournament, the 22-year-old aced the 169-yard, par-three fourth hole at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota with her six-iron – a first for her since turning professional in 2024.

The world No. 86 signed for an even-par 72, with four birdies and six bogeys alongside her ace to finish the day on an even-par 144 total, a stroke above the one-over cut line.

She sat tied-43rd with 11 others – including Major winners Yin Ruoning (73) of China, Japanese Hinako Shibuno (73) and South Korea’s Chun In-gee (71) – and is 12 strokes behind South Korean leader Yoon I-na, ahead of the third round which ended after press time.

Tan said: “It’s still a little surreal. You never really expect to make a hole-in-one, so when it went in there was definitely a moment of disbelief, before it sank in.

“To have my first professional ace come at a Major championship, and in my first Women’s PGA Championship, makes this very special.

“It’s one of those moments you can’t really script, and it will be one I’ll remember for a long time!”

Tan has made two cuts in as many Majors in 2026, having also progressed to the weekend at the Chevron Championship in April.

There, she finished tied-38th to record her best finish at a Major.

This is the Singaporean’s first time competing in the US Majors after winning the 2025 Ladies European Tour Order of Merit, which gave her exemption into the Chevron Championship and the June 25-28 Women’s PGA Championship this week.

In Minnesota, Yoon conjured five birdies in a three-under 69 to push her lead to five strokes, while Nelly Korda was six adrift in her bid for a third straight Major title.

Yoon, whose nine-under 63 on June 25 matched the lowest first round in the history of the event, built a 36-hole total of 12-under 132 to claim the lead.

“This is actually my first time being lead going into the weekend,” she said. “It’s actually really nice experience for me. I’m so excited to play last two more days.

“The remaining two days will obviously be nerve-racking, but being nervous is human nature, and I think I want to embrace that and focus on what I can in my shots.”

South Korea’s Ryu Hae-ran fired eight birdies in a superb eight-under 64 to charge into a group of four players sharing second place on seven-under 137.

World No. 1 Korda, seeking to become just the third LPGA player to win the first three Majors of the season after her victories at the Chevron Championship and US Women’s Open, posted a four-under 68 and was tied on six-under 138 with South Korean Lee Dong-eun, who signed for a 69.

Yoon added that she tried not to look at the leaderboard as she opened the round with a two-shot lead. Four birdies in the first eight holes stretched her lead to as many as seven, but she slowed coming in with two bogeys and one birdie.

The 23-year-old is thriving in her second year on the LPGA Tour, after serving a suspension on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association circuit for playing the wrong ball at the 2022 Korea Women’s Open and failing to declare it.

Ryu, the 2023 LPGA Rookie of the Year and a three-time winner on the tour, was delighted with her “amazing” round, which featured four birdies on each side and a dazzling display on the greens, including birdie putts from 22 feet at the third hole and 18 feet at the fourth.

She was joined on seven-under by fellow South Korean Kim A-lim (70), Canadian Brooke Henderson (68), and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka (67).

Korda, who trailed by seven after the first round of the US Women’s Open and went on to win, had four birdies in her first nine holes but developed “a case of the hooks” coming in.

She said of her chase to Yoon: “I’m just going to focus on, as boring as it is, one shot at a time and see where that takes me.

“It’s just golf. It’s funny right? It always kind of humbles you, and you’re always scratching your head a little bit in some ways.” AFP