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For the past 6 years Laurens Electric Cooperative sponsors a Million Dollar Hole-In-One Shootout with proceeds benefitting a local charity, For Our Children. Hundreds of people from the Upstate of SC come out to support the cause over 2 days with their donations that allows them chances to qualify for one shot at a million dollars. Each person is given a bag of golf balls all with a certain number on them and then they must hit all of the balls from the corresponding ball number location to a pin 130 yards away. The top 22 players that are closest to the hole on the 130 yard shot over 2 days will qualify for 1 shot at a million dollars from 165 yards. They also award $500 for the closest to the pin on both days and $1000 for closest to the pin on the 1 shot for a million out of the 22 players that have qualified. In case there are 2 hole-in-ones during the qualification then each person must then hit a second shot and the person with the closer of the second shots will win the $500 that day. It is 2 days packed with fun, excitement and competition all while benefitting a great local cause. Local golfer Patrick Van Every has qualified for the million dollar shot the past 2 years. Patrick arrived early on Friday to try to get on the board early and qualify for the 1 shot for a million on Saturday and within 15 minutes of shooting a pitching wedge at the 130 yard hole he had a hole-in-one. Unfortunately his second shot that was used as a measurement in case there were multiple hole-in-ones was 31 feet from the hole. Patrick remained the sole hole-in-one all afternoon and his chances for the $500 first prize looked good for the first day. Patrick stopped by to see the leader board late in the afternoon and had a gut feeling that someone else was going to have a hole-in-one and get closer than 31 feet on their next shot. Patrick took aim and within 20 minutes had his second hole-in-one but his second shot was outside of 31 feet. He later found out that he lost out to the only other hole-in-one for the day by 1 foot. Saturday was a different story. Patrick showed up with the full intent of winning the $500 on Saturday after losing by only a foot the day prior. �I felt so comfortable with the shot and had a Tigeresque mindset that I just knew that I could make a hole-in-one and felt real very good with how I was hitting the ball.� With a full field all trying to qualify Patrick was put on the waiting list for slot number 3. Within a few minutes of hitting balls at the 130 yard flag, Patrick had his 3rd hole-in-one in 2 days. Now the pressure was on to hit the second shot closer in order to win the $500 prize for the day. They stopped play and cleared the other balls off of the green for the important second shot and with all eyes watching, Patrick hit back to back hole-in-ones to basically guarantee being in first place and also his 4th hole-in-one in 2 days. �I fully expected and had the mindset that I was there to make a hole-in-one but never would I expect to make another hole-in-one on my next swing with the pressure on and everyone watching. It all happened in slow motion and really took me awhile to realize the magnitude of what just happened.� The estimated odds of acing a hole with any given swing are one in 33,000. A study by Golf Digest in 2000 said that the odds of getting two holes-in-one in the same round are 67 million to one. Jim Donahoo, Director of Marketing for Laurens Electric commented, �We have been doing this event for 6 years, so we have witnessed several hole-in-ones, but never back to back hole-in-ones or 4 in 1 weekend from the same player, truly amazing.� No one has claimed the million dollars from the 1 shot at 165 yards over the past 6 years. Patrick Van Every was the obvious favorite but with the added pressure and increased distance there was no way to pick a winner. 22 players that qualified from the 2 day shootout had 1 shot at a million dollars as well as the chance to win $1000 for the closest to the pin. The closest to the pin from the first 21 players prior to Patrick hitting his shot was 12 feet and since he had the back to back hole-in-ones, he had to go last to add to the pressure and excitement. �I had a game plan in mind and that was to try for the center of the green and if by chance I hit the hole then that would be a blessing, I had my eye on the $1000.� Patrick was last to go and hit a 9 iron short of the green and let the ball release towards the flag and when it came to rest it was 10 feet from the pin and closest enough to win first prize and a near perfect ending to an amazing golf weekend. �A hole-in-one to win the million dollars would have been the perfect ending to this fairytale golf story but the fact that I hit 4 hole-in-ones in 2 days including 2 back to back will be a story that will be told over and over and one that rates high on my list of all time.� Laurens Electric is a member-owned rural electric cooperative in Upstate South Carolina. Founded in 1939, the co-op provides service to more than 50,000 residential, commercial and industrial consumers in Laurens, Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Abbeville, Newberry, and Union counties. For Our Children is a local charity that was established to promote and sustain the Upstate South Carolina community�s commitment to the education, development, and well-being of its children. Patrick Van Every is a Mauldin, SC resident and Partner with AZIA Restaurant in Greenville, SC. Patrick has been playing golf for 10 years and plays to a 10 HCP and has no other hole-in-ones other then the Million Dollar Shootout. (Image provided by Eagle Zone Golf Improvement Center. )
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