One tee shot earned 25-year-old Ahn Ji-min (안지민) a car valued at approximately 70 million South Korean won. Yet the bigger stakes for the KPGA Tour player at the Lexus Masters on 29 October 2026 were his prospects of keeping a Tour card for next season.
An ace into the wind
Ahn made his hole-in-one at the par-3 ninth of Club72's Ocean Course in Incheon during the opening round of the Lexus Masters. Published reports give the hole as approximately 170–172 yards. He used a 5-iron, attempting to flight the ball lower against a headwind with a crosswind component. In his first-hand account to Korean reporters, he said the strike did not quite follow his plan, but the wind carried it onto a better line. The ball bounced twice and dropped.
A hole-in-one is a ball holed with the first stroke from the teeing area. On a par-3 it is also an eagle, or two strokes under par for that hole. Not every long-range hole-out is a hole-in-one; the number of strokes matters.
His second of the season — with a striking reward
This was Ahn's second hole-in-one on the KPGA Tour in 2026. His first came at the KPGA Founders Cup in May, on the par-3 14th during the opening round. According to information attributed to KPGA by tournament media, he was the only player to have made two aces on the tour this season as of 29 October.
The ninth hole carried a special prize: a Lexus ES 350e Premium valued at around 70 million won. Yonhap reported that Ahn's official season prize money stood at approximately 63 million won at that point. Importantly, a car awarded for a hole-in-one is not cash tournament prize money, and its retail value should not be added to his official KPGA earnings total.
The 70 on his scorecard is the bigger story
Ahn completed his first round in 70 strokes, one under the par-71 course. He was not at the top of the leaderboard. Heading into the event he stood 69th in the Genesis Points rankings. A top-70 standing at the relevant cut-off matters for the season-ending KPGA Tour Championship and his battle to maintain playing status.
The ace therefore secured a rare personal milestone and an extraordinary prize, but did not settle his place in the weekend field, his season-finale eligibility or his 2027 Tour status. Those outcomes depend on scores across the tournament, not the spectacle of one tee shot.
Editorial perspective: A hole-in-one can be the moment everybody remembers, while the golfer's longer season is decided by cumulative performance. As of 30 October, the four-round Lexus Masters was still in progress; no tournament victory should be inferred from this achievement.
Reporting: Yonhap (29 October 2026), KPGA competition information and tournament-organiser material.
