At the 2007 Kraft Nabisco $1 million Hole In One contest local Palm Springs realtor Diane McMillan was surrounded by veterans of the game. She not only faced professionals but also amateur golfers who had won prizes in the event before. With a single swing of a 5 iron, she won her very own vehicle in her first trip to the contest finals.
The event was the opening activity of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first LPGA major championship of 2007. McMillan made the 135 yard shot which landed just 5 feet 1 inch form the cup on the 18th hole of the Mission Hills Country Club. She made a shot that was not only better than the amateurs but also better than the 10 professionals that were in the event.
McMillan and nine other golfers qualified for the main event through daily events at the College Golf Center in Palms Desert and Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort in Palm Springs, and then a semifinal round on Sunday. The amateurs were each paired with an LPGA pro for the event, with the team splitting $1 million if either golfer made an ace on the makeshift par 3 in the middle of the par 5 18th hole. McMillan was paired with professional Stacy Prammanasudh.
McMillan who was hitting third replaced her 6 iron with a 5 iron after a stiff breeze came up. After she made her shot, she then had to wait for the next seven amateurs to hit. Pat Guenther, the only other woman in the field, hit her shot to 13-7, but that was as close as anyone came to beating McMillan. She said she knew she was pretty close but did not know for sure if she had won. She said she spent $160 to qualify for the event which was a fundraiser for United Way of the Desert.
In a celebrity competition before the amateurs played, former Super Bowl and Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett won $5,000 for his charity, Vista for the Visually Impaired and Blind. Plunkett had the winning shot that was 12-7, beating the best shots of actress Kassie DePavia, actor Jamie Farr and baseball Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson.
After her victory, McMillan celebrated with friends and even briefly talked to her mother on the phone. She then learned the details of how she could pick up her new Toyota Tundra truck. The display truck was black but she says that she has the option to pick any color she would like. She says she thinks she will pick white.
Diane McMillan is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker. She lives and works in Southern California in the Palm Springs and Palm Desert areas. She was a former golf teaching pro so her experience in both golf and real estate have helped her to become an excellent resource for people seeking information and advice when both purchasing and selling residential golf properties. She says that real estate is like golf, it is the follow through that makes all the difference.
