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"There's nowhere to go but down," said Scott Liebl, after acing #13 at Koronis Hills Golf Club on Sunday, April 9, during his first round of the year at the course.

Actually, Scott was not having a very good round while playing in the afternoon with his wife Linda and sons Mack, 11, and Ben, soon to be eight. When he reached the par-3, 133-yard #13, he pulled a nine iron out of his bag and hit a good shot at the pin in the back.

Scott Liebl, a 1987 PHS grad, got his first hole in one during his first round of the year at Koronis Hills Golf Club on Sunday, April 9. He aced the par-3, 133-yard #13 with a nine iron.

"I hit it six to eight feet in front of the flag and got to watch it roll in. We all were excited," said Scott.

Though they saw his ball go into the hole, he had momentary doubts, saying afterwards that maybe it rolled off the back of the green. They ran to the green and found his ball in the cup.

Getting a hole in one was the fulfillment of a dream for Liebl. "You always think about it," he said, "and you are always worried that you'll be alone. It was cool to have the boys (with to see)."

After a poor front nine, Liebl shot 39 on the back nine that day. "The 1 certainly helped the score," he said.

It was his first round of the year at Koronis Hills, though he had gone to Kansas City in March to golf with his uncle Steve Kotten and his co-worker Tim Malling, a frequent golf companion.

Liebl, a 1987 PHS grad, has been playing golf for 15 years. A 16-18 handicapper, he plays a couple times a week now but used to play a lot more, he said.

He lives near Richmond with his family and works as a physical therapist for the Paynesville Area Health Care System, where he has worked for 13 years.

He hit a good shot that day, he said, but getting a hole in one is mostly luck: "You could easily roll one up there and have it go in."

After golfing, Liebl and his family went for dinner, which was cheaper than getting a hole-in-one, say, on men's night. Feeling lucky, he bought a lottery ticket, but his luck did not holdŠthe ticket was a dud.