Mark Ehlich stood on the 13th tee at the Moorland Course at Legends Resort as one of his playing partners tossed a tee in the air to see who would lead-off in the opening round of the World Am.

Naturally, given that he was playing in the event for the first time, the tee came to a stop pointing at Ehlich, who was left to silently bemoan his luck.

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxMY68dyDdc&feature=youtu.be” width=”400″ height=”220″]Moments later, fate intervened in a way that it never has the 33-year history of the World Am.

“It was 120 yards (to the hole),” Ehlich said. “It was a little bit down hill so I took a 9-iron and swung easy. (My playing partners) were like it’s a good shot. I said, ‘Yeah, it looks pretty good’ and about that time, clink, it went straight in the hole. It actually damaged the hole and I had to call the clubhouse and have them come repair the cup.”

With his playing partners, one of whom had never seen an ace, celebrating, Ehlich had taken a lead at the World Am on his first swing. Ehlich endured a few good natured jokes about going broke buying drinks at the bar, but his response was on the money.

“It would be worth it,” he said with a laugh.

It was Ehlich’s third career ace and he made a double eagle earlier this year, so he knows how to get the ball in the cup from distance.

As is often the case with golf, the breaks didn’t go his way the rest of the way, and after an early lead, he finished the first round T-27 with a net 81. But there is time to recover and either way, Ehlich has already had an unforgettable World Am.