Golf

Try this, Annika: Two aces in one day

Cissy Perkins, 73, pulls off the feat in Tampa in her 15th year playing golf.

By RODNEY PAGE
Published April 19, 2006

Cissy Perkins couldn't sleep Monday night. Her mind was still racing hours after a once-in-a-lifetime day on the golf course.

Perkins, 73, made two holes-in-one at the Babe Zaharias Golf Course in Tampa. A 24 handicap, she shot 83 at the par-70 course, the best round of her life.

A round she almost didn't play.

"I was going to go home (Sunday), but my daughter thought I should stick around another day and play golf with them," said Perkins, who lives in Naples. "I'm glad I did."

In a threesome with her daughter, Karen Marotta, and her daughter's friend, Kathy Ottens, the first hole-in-one came at No. 8, a 107-yard hole all over water with the pin 10 yards from the front of the green. Perkins used a 6-iron, which carried the water and started rolling.

"The ball hit on the front of the green and started tracking to the hole," Perkins said. "Then it went in and we started jumping up and down. The groups behind us could hear us, and they were miles behind us."

The second ace came at the 15th hole, which measures 113 yards and is guarded by a sand trap around the green. Perkins said she decided to be safe and hit a 5-iron.

"They all said it was long, so we were looking for the ball over the green," Perkins said. "Then Kathy saw it in the hole and started screaming. We were making so much noise, everybody on the course knew what happened."

The next par-3 was the 17th hole, which required another shot over water. Perkins wasn't as lucky this time.

"I hit it right in the water," she said. "I was so nervous."

Perkins didn't start playing golf until she was 58. Retired with her husband, Robert, she is a member of the Wilderness Country Club in Naples and tries to play twice a week. Robert was out of town due to a family illness Monday, but Perkins called him right away.

This was not her first ace. She had a hole-in-one four years ago at the Country Club of Naples while playing in an interclub tournament.

Perkins was in Tampa to visit Marotta for Easter. She planned to return today to play golf with her brother, Hank Davis, at the Emerald Greens Golf and Country Club in Carrollwood.

"I decided to stay and play on Monday to loosen up so I would play well with my brother," Perkins said.

Babe Zaharias head professional Kennie Sims has seen his share of holes-in-one at the course, but never two.

"I've only read about them," Sims said. "It's an amazing feat."

How amazing? A mathematician hired by Golf Digest estimated that the odds of making two holes-in-one in the same round are 67-million to 1. Since 2000, there have been two other documented double aces in the Tampa Bay area.

Sims said anyone who gets a hole-in-one at his course usually gets a framed photo of the hole. But for this, he plans to present Perkins with a trophy or plaque and display a plaque at the course.

"We've got to recognize something like that," Sims said.

Marotta, who has a 10 handicap, said her mother's day ruined her round. But she hopes a little luck will rub off on her.

"I couldn't concentrate it was so exciting out there," Marotta said. "It's like winning the lottery. I'm going to get her to buy my lottery tickets for (today's) drawing."

[Last modified April 19, 2006, 01:59:13]