Bob Ketler called his wife Jennifer after achieving a golf milestone on June 28.
She didn’t answer. He didn’t leave a voicemail. Instead, he sent a text.
“Just hit a hole-in-one for a BMW,” it read.
“I’m in an interview. That’s crazy,” Jennifer replied.
Then she received a picture of Bob sitting in a brand-new BMW M850.
“OMG. What do we need another car for?” Jennifer’s text read.
“I don’t know. I didn’t pick the prize,” Bob responded.
But he’ll undoubtedly take it. Ketler, an Eagle Rock Golf & Resort member, aced No. 8 (par 3, 166 yards) during a GAP Member Play Day event at White Manor Country Club (par 71, 6,230 yards). By doing so, he won a three-year lease of a 2021 BMW M850 — valued at $58,224.
“After I was done fist bumping and chest bumping everybody, I said, ‘Get out of my way’ and went down to the car and sat in it,” Ketler, 51, of Yardley, Pa., said. “I just never imagined that I’d be there to see someone win [a car], let alone me win it. I’ve been excited with just having the hole-in-one. It was my first one, and I’ve been playing golf for more than 20 years.”
First trip around White Manor, first career ace. On No. 8, Ketler, playing alongside Manny Goncalves, Ed Russell and Peter Shamieh, pulled 5-iron to account for the wind.
“I struck the ball well. I was just staring it down,” he said. “It hit the green, released and rolled left and kind of disappeared. I checked to make sure it wasn’t hiding behind the flagstick. Sure enough, it was in.”
“I said, ‘Get out of my way’ and went down to the car and sat in it.”
Bob Ketler
Ketler retrieved his golf ball — a green Maxfli SoftFli — from the cup. He proceeded to use it on the next hole (par 4, 374 yards).
“Everyone was like, ‘Get that out of play.’ I mistakenly hit it, but I didn’t lose it,” Ketler, a Member Play Day regular since 2018, said. “I took it out of play [after No. 9].”
Ketler ended the day with 42 Stableford points — good enough for first place in the event’s Amateur Division.
“White Manor is a great layout. The course was in excellent shape. The greens ran nicely,” Ketler, a civil engineer, said. “[GAP Member Play Days] offer a nice chance to play courses I wouldn’t get to play. The tournament part of it is just a bonus.”
Just like winning a BMW for your first ace.
“Everybody wants to ride with me now,” Ketler, who owns a Dodge Challenger and a pickup truck, said. “I’ll take it to the golf course at least once.”
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 300 Member Clubs and 80,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
