There’s no place like home.
The LPGA’s AmazingCre Portland Classic is being played in Portland, Oregon, at Columbia Edgewater Country Club — the home course of Caroline Inglis.
The 28-year-old former Oregon Duck plays the track nearly every day when she’s not teeing it up on the LPGA. But when her two worlds collided this week, Inglis had a moment that stands out from every other time she’s played there.
Inglis stepped up the par-3 13th on the Macan Course with an 8-iron for her fourth hole of Round 2. Her shot sailed over the water, bounced on the front of the green and rolled into the cup for a 135-yard hole-in-one — with many of her family and friends watching in person.
At first, she didn’t think her shot would result in a celebration. Microphones picked up Inglis saying, “I hit that so bad,” moments after the ace.
“I hit it kind of like not very good,” Inglis said after her round, “it was thin. I was like, ‘Okay, it’ll bounce up. That’s fine.’ It took a really big first bounce and just like went in.
“I was so shocked that it actually happened at my home course on a hole that I played so many times. I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Like in a tournament.’ Because I’ve had — this is my sixth one, but only ever had one other in a tournament but it was in college. It was just so surprising. It was fun.”
Inglis has played on the LPGA since 2017, but only has one top-10. In Oregon’s annual LPGA event, she’s teed it up twice at her home course, in 2017 and 2016, when she made her LPGA debut on a sponsor’s exemption.
She missed the cut both times, but the third time was a charm.
Full-field scores from the AmazingCre Portland Classic
Following up her opening 5-under 67 with a second-round 70, the world No. 231 safely made the cut and sits T-10 at 7 under, three shots off Esther Henseleit and Lilia Vu’s 36-hole lead.
A win would make an already great week even more indelible for Inglis, but even a top-10 finish would be huge. The Eugene, Oregon, native is fighting to keep her LPGA card, as she sits 120th in the Race for the CME Globe standings (top 100 secure priority status for 2023). She’s approximately 67 points from No. 100. A top-10 could notch her more than 75 points.
But no matter where Inglis ends up on the leaderboard after the Portland Classic’s final round, she already claimed an unforgettable moment at home sweet home.
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