Special Olympics partner gets hole-in-one at Jaycee golf course

Lost in all the excitement and personal glory gained from the a hole-in-one on the golf course is a simple benefit: There is no need to putt.

On Friday afternoon that benefit belonged to Special Olympics athlete Joe Loep­ker, thanks to his brother and unified playing partner Ron Loepker. Unified partners are non-Special Olympics athletes who play alongside the athletes.

The two were playing 18 holes of alternate-shot golf at the Cape Jaycee Municipal Golf Course as part of the Special Olympics State Outdoor Championships when Ron Loepker stepped up to the tee at the par-3 third hole.

"Actually the two guys who hit before me were short," Ron Loepker said, "so I actually went back and got a different club -- one more club -- and if I wouldn't have done that I wouldn't have got a hole-in-one."

Ron Loepker went with a 7-iron on the 132-yard hole.

"We knew it was close, but we didn't think it was in," Ron Loepker said. "Well, we couldn't tell if it was in."

Jim LaRue, who was playing with the Loepkers, said he could tell. "I told him it went in, and he didn't believe me."

It was the second hole-in-one for Ron Loepker, a St. Louis resident. The other came two years ago at Jackson's Bent Creek Golf Course.

"That was kind of neat," he said. "I'm going to have to start driving down here every weekend."

Joe Loepker, a Special Olympics veteran, mostly showed his emotions about the shot through physical expressions rather than words during a post-round interview.

"He was really excited," Ron Loepker said. "This is my first year playing with him, and he really enjoyed it."

Joe Loepker, who said golf is his favorite sport, hugged his brother when the shot was first mentioned. He clapped and nodded his head when asked about his reaction on the course.

"He gave me a good golfer's clap," Ron Loepker joked.

But he seemed most happy when asked about not having to putt. That's when Ron Loepker got his biggest hug as well.

The shot was part of a round of 97 for the Loepkers, who won the silver medal in their division.

Double gold

The biggest medal of the day, in both literal size and symbolic meaning, was awarded to Jason Wright of Springfield, Mo. Wright won a gold medal Friday and was also presented with his gold medal from the Special Olympics National Games, which he earned by shooting an 83 playing on his own for 18 holes.

Wright, who wasn't awarded his medal at the national games because of an issue with his scorecard, was given a long, loud round of applause when the announcement was made.

"It felt good," Wright said.

George Richardson, an athlete from Jefferson City who participated in his second golf round at the state games, played an adventurous nine holes with his partner.

He said he had to hit one ball positioned near the edge of a lake and another that stopped right in front of a tree, but neither ranked as his top moment on Friday.

Richardson said his favorite thing was "getting wet by the sprinklers."

How close was he when water started spraying?

"Real close," he said with a wide smile across his face.