Paul Loyacono, left, gets the keys to his new 2001 Buick Century from George Carr this morning.(The Vicksburg Post/MELANIE DUNCAN)

[05/07/01] Don Davis and R.J. Williams teamed up for the Bud Light two-man scramble title on Sunday, but Paul Loyacono was the big winner.

Loyacono, 24, won a new car from George Carr’s dealership with a hole-in-one on the 14th hole at Clear Creek Golf Course in Bovina. It was the second ace of the the tournament. Tim Turner won a year of free auto maintenance at George Carr with a hole-in-one on the second hole.

“One golf shot has taken care of all my problems,” Loyacono said with a laugh.

Loyaconao, a sales representative for Yellow Book USA, went this morning to sell the car back to the dealership. He’ll use the money to pay off the 2000 Nissan Maxima he purchased last year.

“That’s the only debt I had,” he said.

The sticker price on the 2001 Buick Century he won is $22,126, Carr said.

“I’ve been doing this for 12 years, and this is the first time we’ve ever had anyone win a car,” said Carr, adding that he has sponsored a hole at two or three tournaments per month. “Sooner or later, it was bound to happen.”

Carr said that he buys insurance to cover the cost if someone wins a car.

“I’m glad someone finally won one,” said Loyacono, who teamed up wiith Teddy Smith to shoot a two-round total of 8-under par 136 and win the third-flight championship.

Loyacono, who played golf at St. Aloysius and Warren Central and his freshman year at LSU, said he knew he had hit a good shot with his 6-iron on the 170-yard par 3.

“It took one hop and went in,” he said.

Loyacono also won the Vicksburg Country Club match-play title last weekend and the VCC club championship when he was 18. But this was his first hole-in-one.

“What a good one it was,” he said, laughing.

It wasn’t the first ace in the family this year. His father, Paul Kelly Loyacono, hit a hole-in-one on March 14.

Davis and Williams combined for a 16-under 128 with back-to-back 64s to win the championship flight by a stroke over John and Tim Turner, who took second on a tiebreaker over Todd Boolos and Allen Hudspeth. Matt Hossley and Dale Tolbert (136) won the first flight.