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Cedar Rapids PGA professional sinks two aces in one week

By J.R. Ogden
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Cedar Rapids PGA professional sinks two aces in one week

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Unlike many, Tanner Megal loves Mondays.

At least he does now.

"I need to play more Monday events," said Megal, an assistant golf pro at the Cedar Rapids Country Club.

On June 19, Megal carded the first hole-in-one of his career, using a 6-iron on the 208-yard No. 4 hole at Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City.

This past Monday -- one week later -- he took out his 9-iron and dropped the ball into the cup on the 151-yard No. 5 hole at CRCC.

That's two aces in one week.

"You'd never expect that," he said.

He didn't see the ball go in at Finkbine and actually thought his tee shot was over the green.

"It was a good shot," he said. "The first hop was right on line. The second hop, I didn't see anything.

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"I never expected to see it in the cup. It was a rush, for sure."

The second hole-in-one was a bit more memorable.

"I always hit my 9-iron" no matter the cup placement, he said, about the par-3 at CRCC. "It landed about six feet past the cup and spun back in.

"For me, that was more exciting to see it go into the cup."

Megal, who grew up in Bismarck, N.D., has been playing golf since he was about 8 years old. A graduate of Campbell University's Golf Management Program, he worked at several golf courses around the country before landing a job at CRCC in May 2015.

This was one memorable week. According to Golf Digest and the National Hole in One Association, the odds of a "low handicap" golfer getting a hole-in-one are 5,000 to 1. An amateur is 12,500 to 1.

Two in one week?

"It's one of those bucket-list things you get to check off," Megal said.

Now what?

"My next move is a par-4," he said with a laugh.


This article is written by J.R. Ogden from The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.