Some said that the wind blew the ball in the hole. Others said a stubborn sprig of grass sent it on-line, but Bob Mills just said, "Give me the keys!"

Mills shot a hole-in-one on the par 3, 12th hole at the "Scramble for Life" golf tournament at Troy County Club Monday afternoon. And as the prize for the feat, he drove home in a brand new 2003 Nissan Altima.

Troy Nissan was a hole-in-one sponsor for the tournament to benefit the Pike County Relay for Life fund-raising campaign and offered the Nissan as a prize.

Mills' Troy Bank & Trust team recently won the Pike County Chamber of Commerce Relay for Life Tournament and immediately donated the prize money back to the fund-raising campaign.

"That will not happen this time," Mills said, laughing. "I believe I will accept this prize."

Mills stepped to the tee with his trusty seven-iron and a TB&T golf ball with an eye for the hole. His swing was sweet and straight and the ball soared, dropped, bit the green, faded a little, trickled and found the bottom of the hole.

Mills yelled; his wife, Dianne, squealed and there was a lot of high-fiving going on around the green.

"My reaction was to the hole-in-one," Mills said. "I didn't really think that I had won a big prize. When I thought about it, I wasn't sure which prize it was."

The prizes up for grabs for a hole-in-one were the Nissan, $10,000 in cash sponsored by Gibson & Carden and a four-wheeler sponsored by Ward's Yamaha.

Mills happened to "luck up" on the Nissan-sponsored 12th hole.

The banker is no stranger to aces, however. Several years ago, he had a hole-in-one on a course in Philadelphia, Miss. The irony of that feat was that, not long after, his wife had a hole-in-one on the same course, on the same hole.

Mills accepted both congratulations and some good natured teasing with class, but he was steadfast in his decision to "ride this one out."

Mack Gibson said the hole-in-one was great for the benefit tournament.

"We've had great support every year and this will be an extra incentive for golfers to play in the coming years," Gibson said of the hole-in-one. "It happened once and it can happen again."

Gibson expressed appreciation to Troy Nissan for their support of the

tournament and the American Cancer Society.

"This make it interesting, real interesting," Gibson said, as Dwaine Webb handed over the keys to the new Altima to Mills, who laughingly said he'll probably hand them on over to his wife for Mother's Day.

Melissa Ingram, tournament coordinator, said the 2003 'Scramble for Life" attracted 79 golfers, making it the largest Gibson and Carden benefit tourney in its four-year history.

"It was great tournament and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun," she said. "That's what this is all about, fellowship,fun and raising money for a very worthwhile cause

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the fight against cancer."

Ingram estimated that, when everything is tallied, the tournament will have raised

$7,000-plus for the Pike County Relay for Life campaign.

"That's wonderful and we want to thank everyone who participated and all of the sponsors," she said. "They are the ones who made it possible."

The goal for the 2003 Pike County Relay for Life campaign is $203,000 and Ingram said she believes the goal will once again be met.