RENO, Nev. -- Japan's Yusaku Miyazato became the first golfer to make two holes-in-one in the same round of a PGA Tour tournament when he aced a pair of par 3s Friday at the Reno-Tahoe Open.

 

Miyazato accomplished the feat on the 220-yard, downhill seventh hole and then the 186-yard, uphill No. 12 at the Montreux Golf and Country Club.

 

Bob Tway had two aces in the same tournament at the Memorial in 1993 and Glen Day did the same at the Greater Hartford Open the same year, but PGA Tour officials said they could find no record of any golfer on tour who pulled it off the same day.

 

Miyazato, 26, who lives in Tokyo, speaks only a little English so his caddie served as an interpreter for reporters after the round. But Miyazato knew how to answer directly when asked how he planned to celebrate Friday night.

 

"Drink much beer. Big party," he said with a wide smile.

 

Miyazato has played four years on the Japanese Tour, earning less than $1 million in that time, he said through his caddie.

 

He had one previous hole-in-one in his lifetime so was "very excited" when he holed the first one Friday with a 4-iron.

 

"But the second time, it was really unbelievable. I couldn't believe it," Miyazato said through his caddie. He hit a 7-iron for that one.

 

Because of the undulating nature of the greens, he didn't see either drop in the cup. The crowd let him know the first was an ace.

 

On No. 12, the gallery was sparse so he was expecting it had hit the pin but bounced away.

 

"When I went to the green, I was surprised," he said.

 

Miyazato started the second round tied for 17th at 3-under-par 69, six strokes behind first-round leader Will MacKenzie. His second hole-in-one pushed him to 8 under and he finished with a 68 for the day to get to 9-under 135 for the tournament.

 

MacKenzie was playing in the group ahead and was told there had been a pair of aces by the same golfer, but didn't know who it was.

 

"We heard them cheering back there," he said.

 

Miyazato said he understands the significance of the feat. PGA officials had him sign the two Tour Stage golf balls he used, which they planned to send to the World Golf Hall of Fame at St. Augustine, Fla.

 

"I'm very proud of the PGA Tour history," Miyazato said. "Everybody watches the PGA Tour on TV [in Japan] because there are many Japanese professionals."

 

Miyazato, who was born in Okinawa, is playing in the tournament on an international exemption granted by Reno-Tahoe Open officials and was eligible because he won the rookie title in Japan last year. He missed the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, the only other PGA event he has competed in this year.

 

He plans to try to qualify for the PGA Tour at qualifying school this fall. His tour earnings so far are $8,775. He's ranked 365th in the world golf rankings, is tied for 1,345th in birdie average and tied for 845th in par-3 average at 3.38, although that number is sure to improve after Friday's performance.

 

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

 

espn.com

I would literally mame and kill to have just ONE hole in one. Ive come close about a foot from the pin but thats about it.

 

To have 2 hole in ones is truly amazing.

Wow. That's unheard of.

my step dad has played golf for about 40 years now without getting a hole-in-one...needless to say this story did not please him...and my closest to an ace is about 2.5 feet...and i missed the birdie put

Miyazato, 26, who lives in Tokyo, speaks only a little English so his caddie served as an interpreter for reporters after the round. But Miyazato knew how to answer directly when asked how he planned to celebrate Friday night.

 

"Drink much beer. Big party," he said with a wide smile.

 

 

 

 

That's awesome