Casey Ward of Chapel Hill hit the second hole-in-one of her burgeoning golf career on Monday — and it came in competition at the 43rd annual Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championship.
Ward, a varsity golfer for Cedar Ridge High School, was tied for third place in the tournament, thanks in part to her ace on the 107-yard, par-3, 15th hole at Reunion Golf & Country Club in Madison, Miss.
“It was in between clubs for me, but I hit a knock-down 9-iron that took two hops and went in,” Ward said. “It was drawing right into the hole, and I knew it was going to be close. I didn’t know it was going to go in.”
The national tournament’s 159-player field endured temperatures nearing 100 and humidity levels hovering around 50 percent for the first round.
Ward finished the first day with a 73, trailing only leader Taylor Totland (69) of New Jersey and Ally McDonald (72) of Mississippi.
Elliott Warnock writes for The Chapel Hill News and The Durham News. He can be reached at