When Bill Albrecht of Veazie competed in the Budweiser Open at Hermon Meadow Golf Club on Saturday, he saved the best for last.

His final stroke in the tournament was an ace on the par-3 12th hole.

“It was a shotgun start,” said Albrecht. “It was the last hole of the tournament.”

The hole was playing its full 210 yards when Albrecht stepped onto the tee.

“I hit a 4-wood,” Albrecht said. “It was going right at the flag.”

The green is elevated in comparison to the tee, though.

“You could see the pin and the green, but not where the ball went,” he said. “When I got up to the green and didn’t see my ball, I thought, ‘It probably went over.'”

While Albrecht went to look for his ball, partner Jim Boulier of Bangor hit his second shot onto the green.

“He asked if I had found my ball,” said Albrecht, who said that he hadn’t.

Boulier told him, “It’s right here in the hole.”

“It was a very big surprise,” Albrecht said. “I’m an 18, 19, 20 handicap. I just go out to enjoy myself. I don’t care what I shoot.”

He was shooting well Saturday.

By the time he stepped to the 12th tee, he had already hit one tee shot that would earn him a closest-to-the-pin honor.

He was nine inches from the cup on No. 16, his fourth hole of the day.

“It was on the lefthand side of the pin,” he said, pointing out that it never really had much of a chance to go in. “It hit short and rolled up on.”

Being that close to the hole is unusual, according to the 57-year-old golfer.

“On a good day, I might be 10 feet. A couple of weeks ago, I was six feet,” said Albrecht, who usually plays Sundays at Bangor Municipal Golf Course.

It’s not the first time lightning has struck for him. That one was also at Hermon Meadow.

“I had one on No. 8 three or four years ago,” said Albrecht.

Back at the clubhouse after Saturday’s round, he received his congratulations and a few pats on the back.

“Everybody was pretty nice,” he said, especially since they didn’t run up a big bar tab on him.

Albrecht accepted the congratulations, but he knows it takes more than skill to get a hole-in-one.

“It’s 500 percent luck,” he said with a little laugh.

And between the ace and the near-ace, Saturday was his lucky day.

Elks’ tourney adds scholarships

The success of the Phil Jameson Memorial Golf Tournament, conducted by the Bangor Lodge of Elks, means the number of scholarships it awards to students at five Bangor-area high schools will be doubled.

In the past, one $500 scholarship was presented at each school. Starting this year, two $500 scholarships each will be awarded at Bangor, Brewer, Hermon, Hampden, and John Bapst of Bangor.

The 16th Phil Jameson Memorial, a four-person scramble event, will be held at Bangor Municipal Golf Course on Sept. 8 with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start.

The entry fee is $40 per person and the deadline is Sept. 4 or until the field of 144 is filled.

Natanis owner dies

Lucy Cobb Browne, the owner of Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro, died Saturday at 84.

Browne and her husband Paul opened Natanis in 1965 and she worked there until her retirement in 1995. Paul Browne died in 1981.

The Browne family has been a generous supporter of junior golf, hosting the state high school championships several times over the years.

Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Riverside Congregational Church in Vassalboro.

Dave Barber is the NEWS golf writer. The Golf scene will appear weekly through September. He can be reached at 990-8170 or by e-mail at dbarber@bangordailynews.net.