Pictured (left to right): PGA CEO Joe Steranka, PGA Vice President Allen Wronowski, Sgt. Ramon Oadilla, PGA President Jim Remy. (Photo: Courtesy The PGA of America)

June 8, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. -- PGA of America President Jim Remy of Ludlow, Vt., went through what he described a "most incredible day" Sunday, June 7, in the nation's capital -- from a somber tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery to recording his third career hole-in-one, and later receiving the congratulations of enlisted service men and a congratulatory hole flag from the nation's "No. 1 golfer" who also was playing the same course -- President Barack Obama.

Remy made his first visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier since he was a youngster, placing a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a day after the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion which turned the tide of World War II. Remy was joined by Sgt. Ramon Padilla of Wheaton, Md., who was wounded in the line of duty in Afghanistan in 2007, and PGA of America Vice President Allen Wronowski of Phoenix, Md., and PGA Chief Executive Officer Joe Steranka of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Padilla, a participant in the Salute Military Golf Association program in Olney, Md., was honored a week ago when his children received academic scholarships from the Folds of Honor Foundation.

Sgt. Ramon Padilla and PGA President Jim Remy lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. (Photo: The PGA of America)

"It was just an incredible day, and an incredible experience to be able to lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solder," said Remy, 54, the vice president and general manager of the Okemo Golf Division at the Okemo Valley Golf Club in Ludlow, Vt. "You see the honor guard, you listen to the taps being played and you look out upon Arlington National and think of how many have sacrificed so much for this country. I last visited the site when I was 11 years old. I had never been back until Sunday. It was all so moving to me."

The wreath ceremony was coordinated by Thurman Higginbotham, deputy director of Arlington National Cemetery, as part of The PGA of America's historic support of the military.

Remy and PGA officers who were visiting Washington participated in activities in conjunction with the 21st annual Military Resale Invitational, formerly the Dan Daniels Invitational, which supports military facilities worldwide. Among the participants were Wounded Warriors from Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., who also have been members of such golf programs as the Salute Military Golf Association (SMGA), of which Padilla learned to play golf after losing his left arm to an explosion while serving in Afghanistan.

Later in the day, Remy was playing a casual round of golf on the West Course at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Md., where President Obama also played Sunday following his return from Europe and a D-Day service at Normandy.

"I saw the President from a distance and it looked like he was having a good day at golf," said Remy, who later recorded his hole-in-one on the par-3, 155-yard No. 9 hole. He used a 7-iron. Remy's previous two aces came in casual rounds in 1987 at Hilton Head, S.C., and in 2007 at Okemo Valley Golf Club.

"It is one thing to have a hole-in-one and to celebrate that with friends," said Remy, "but it's even better when you can walk into the clubhouse and you are greeted by strangers, who are all enlisted men in our armed services. To meet them was my reward. I thanked them for what they do daily to preserve our freedom."

Later Sunday evening, Remy attended a dinner and was surprised by a souvenir of his memorable day on the West Course at Andrews Air Force Base.

It was a hole flag signed by one of the golfers on the course that day -- President Obama.

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