Robbie Rhodes, a 2004 Northshore graduate and Covington resident, described Saturday as the second best Saturday of his life outside of marrying his wife Megan on June 7 and for good reason.

Playing in the American District Telegraph Arenabowl XXII Invitational at the TPC Louisiana in Avondale. Rhodes won a Mitsubishi Spyder Eclipse GT Convertible by acing the par three 154-yard ninth hole using an 8-iron. The car is the same type that was awarded to the Arenabowl’s Most Valuable Player, Philadelphia Soul quarterback Matt D’Orazio, whose team beat the defending AFL Champion San Jose Sabercats, 59-56, Sunday at the New Orleans Arena.

“I was more like, ‘wow, a hole-in-one,’” Rhodes said. “The car was to our back. It wasn’t really something you think about. I turned my back to my teammates and we started screaming.”

(Use arrows above to view more photos)

The golfer said the wind was coming from the right. He said the shot was headed for the cup the entire time.

“It was going right at the hole the whole way. It took two hops, spun around and dropped in,” Rhodes said.

Slidell resident Brian Cuyler, who was in his foursome, said the shot looked good off the tee.

“We were saying, ‘that looks close,’ but we had no idea it was that close,” Cuyler said.

Cuyler added there was a lot of jumping around and yelling. He said people on other fairways acknowledged it and congratulated Rhodes.

It was Rhodes’ second career hole-in-one. The other one came when he was playing for Faulkner State Junior College in 2005. Adding to his excitement Saturday was his team winning the tournament. The competition was in a shamble format, meaning you play the longest drive of the four on each hole, but you hit your own ball after that. Rhodes teamed up with Cuyler and 2004 Slidell High graduates Kevin Cuyler along with Phil Chaplin to shoot a 12-under par 60, winning the event by three strokes. The team finished with eight pars, seven birdies, an ace, an eagle and a bogey.

The second-place team featured Professional Golfer Kelly Gibson, AFL Ironman of the Year Will Pettis of the Dallas Desperadoes, Bob Stohrer and Brian Meith. The third-place twosome, who shot a 65, included Bob Wischusen and Glenn Beckmann.

The winning group was rewarded with a golf getaway at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Miss., a set of irons and a one-year subscription to Sirius Satellite Radio. Rhodes said he has teamed up with these guys before and was excited about winning the tournament.

“It was pretty cool. It’s a great golf course and we got hot,” Rhodes said. “We’ve been playing together for a long time,” Rhodes said.

Kevin Cuyler said everything seemed to go right.

“It felt good. It was one of those days that magically fell into place,” Cuyler said.

As if the day couldn’t get any better, Chaplin won the longest drive contest by sending the ball 305 yards down the middle of the fairway of the 18th hole. He took home a Garmin 650 GPS, shooting last. In order to qualify for the prize, the ball had to land in the fairway of the 18th hole.

Chaplin talked about the drive.

“The other three people had already hit, so they just told me I could go for it,” Chaplin said. “I hit it about as hard as I could. It was wet when it hit, so it actually backed up about a foot.”

Starting the tournament on the 13th hole, the foursome was one of the first teams to get to the 18th. Chaplin said he knew he had a chance, but felt somebody might beat him since the ground had not hardened yet, meaning their ball could get a better roll.