SOUTHERN PINES — Like mother, like son.
Golf great Annika Sorenstam, who is making memories this week with her return to the US Women’s Open Championship after a 14-year absence at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, has been upstaged to a certain degree by her 11-year-old son, Will.
Will McGee made headlines Wednesday when he aced the fifth hole at the nearby Pinehurst Resort’s par-3 course, The Cradle. McGee finished the round with a score of 24.
Sorenstam took a moment in her post-first-round interview to brag on her son.
“Yeah, he made it from 50 yards and it was so neat,” Sorenstam said. “I mean, we called him ‘Ace’ last night. That was his nickname, and every time we said, Ace, he lit up. He called his buddies. He has a friend in Nevada, Mason, and Mason is a good player. Mason hasn’t had a hole-in-one I’ve just found out.”
Yesterday, @ANNIKA59‘s family enjoyed a loop around The Cradle after the @uswomensopen practice round. This morning, the kids came back for more, and Will aced the 5th hole!
The Cradle is fun for the whole family (even when Mom has 10 major wins…) pic.twitter.com/fLKFbyh7Gb
— Pinehurst Resort (@PinehurstResort) June 1, 2022
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Pinehurst Resort senior media relations manager Alex Podlogar came up with the idea for a special present to help Will commemorate the shot. On Thursday, the USGA director of player services, Jenny Pritchard, presented the pin flag from The Cradle’s fifth hole that he aced as well as an engraved Cradle bag tag with the date, his name and hole number on it to Will’s father, Mike McGee, who passed the gifts along to Will.
Apparently, Sorenstam’s family, including daughter Ava and husband McGee, enjoyed playing The Cradle so much that they returned Friday morning for another round. Sorenstam, who was scheduled to tee off in the second round of the U.S. Women’s Open on Friday afternoon, also took a few shots at The Cradle as captured in photos posted on her husband’s Twitter account, @MikeMcGeeAnnika.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Annika Sorenstam’s son Will McGee honored after his Pinehurst hole-in-one