From Supercars to Space Travel Tickets: The Rise of Hole-in-One Marketing

Matthews Wins Two-Year Lamborghini Usage
Prizes Include Cars, Bacchus, Cash, Hanwoo Beef, and Kaoliang Liquor
Sullivan's 2014 Space Travel Ticket Draws Attention

Brooke Matthews, a 27-year-old American, is in her fourth year on the LPGA Tour. Last week, she was at the center of attention. On November 16 (local time), at the Annika Driven event held at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, she made headlines. She achieved a major feat, capturing two significant prizes.

On the final day, at the 12th hole (par 3, 142 yards), she scored a hole-in-one with a 9-iron. It was her first hole-in-one since making her tour debut in 2022. She was awarded a two-year usage right for a Lamborghini Urus, which was the prize for a hole-in-one on that hole. The car is a large coupe-style SUV produced by the Italian automaker Lamborghini. It is a supercar valued at over 300 million won (approximately 230,000 dollars).

Brook Matthews recorded a hole-in-one on the final day driven by Annika Drivens and received a two-year Lamborghini usage right. Photo by AP Yonhap News

That was not the end. Riding the momentum from her hole-in-one, Matthews went on to make a chip-in eagle at the 14th hole (par 5). Before this tournament, Matthews was ranked 62nd in the CME points standings, but she moved up to 59th and secured a spot in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, which began on November 20. This marks her first appearance in the Tour Championship.

The CME Group Tour Championship is open only to the top 60 players in the CME points standings for the season. The total prize money is 11 million dollars (about 16.1 billion won), with the winner's prize set at 4 million dollars (about 5.87 billion won). Even the last-place finisher receives 55,000 dollars (about 80 million won). Matthews' total earnings this year amount to 511,230 dollars (about 750 million won).

This is the Lamborghini Urus model that Brooke Matthews received for a hole-in-one. Provided by Lamborghini

Achieving a hole-in-one is extremely rare. The odds for an amateur golfer to make a hole-in-one are 1 in 12,000. For a single-handicap golfer, the odds are 1 in 5,000, and for a tour professional, 1 in 3,000. There is a saying that if you make a hole-in-one, you will have good luck for three years. It is also said that good things will happen to your playing partners as well.

Tournament organizers are putting great effort into hole-in-one marketing, offering a variety of prizes to attract attention. Luxury cars are standard. Recently, more unique hole-in-one prizes have been introduced. At last year's KPGA Tour The Charity Classic, the hole-in-one prize was 10,000 bottles of Bacchus. Yoo Songgyu made a hole-in-one at the 11th hole of the first round. He donated 8,000 bottles and sent 2,000 bottles to his mother's restaurant.

Yoo Songgyu recorded a hole-in-one at The Charity Classic and received 10,000 bottles of Bacchus. Photo by KPGA

Kim Yeonseop received cash. In June, during the second round of the KPGA Tour Baeksong Holdings·Asiad CC Busan Open, he made his first career hole-in-one at the 16th hole and was awarded 50 million won in cash. Then, in the first round of The Charity Classic, he made another hole-in-one at the 17th hole. As a prize, he received a Mercedes-Benz E-Class vehicle worth about 75 million won. His prize money for this season is 35.63 million won, and with the two hole-in-ones, he has earned over 120 million won.

Lee Daehan made a hole-in-one at the final event of last year's KPGA Tour Championship in November and received a 'Lucky 13-carat Viagem' worth 78 million won. Viagem is a bio-jewel manufactured by Viabiotech, a subsidiary of Boram Group. The jewel is created by extracting bio-elements from human hair or nails and synthesizing them with artificial gemstones. Lee Daehan visited the Viabiotech headquarters with his wife to collect the Viagem in person.

Park Minji, on the final day of the KLPGA Tour BC Card·Hankyung Ladies Cup in August, made a hole-in-one at the 6th hole. Having debuted in 2017, she is now in her ninth year and has achieved 19 career wins. She made her first-ever hole-in-one in her 200th professional tournament appearance. She was awarded a robot coffee machine valued at 80 million won.

Lee Daehan achieved a hole-in-one at last year's KPGA Tour Championship and received a 13-carat ViaGem, a bio-jewel, as a prize. Provided by Boram Group

There have been many unique hole-in-one prizes in the past as well. Andy Sullivan of England made a hole-in-one at the 15th hole during the fourth round of the 2014 DP World Tour KLM Open. He secured a space travel ticket offered by the Dutch company XCOR Space Expeditions. The itinerary included departing from the Mojave Desert, orbiting 39 miles (about 62 kilometers) above the earth, and returning back to earth.

Jung Yena, in July 2016 during the first round of the MY Moonyoung Queens Park Championship, made a hole-in-one at the 13th hole and became the owner of a 33-square-meter Biztweet officetel in Guro-dong, Seoul, valued at 130 million won. Seo Yeonjeong, at the Hanwha Financial Classic in September 2012, was eligible to receive a Bentley Flying Spur worth nearly 300 million won. However, she had to forfeit the prize due to her amateur status. Three years later, in July 2015, she made a hole-in-one at the BMW Ladies Championship and received a BMW i8, earning a substantial bonus.

Andy Sullivan made a hole-in-one at the 2014 KLM Open and won a space travel ticket. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Im Jina revealed her weight at the 2009 Orient China Ladies Open. She made a hole-in-one at the 12th hole of the second round and received as much Jinmen Kaoliang liquor as her body weight. Park Inbee, after getting married in October 2014, made a hole-in-one during the third round of the KB Financial Star Championship and was awarded a Duxiana bed worth 35 million won. In August 2010, at the Volvik Women's Open, Korean premium Hanwoo beef was offered as a hole-in-one prize.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.