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HAPPY housewife Dena Wales made history on day two of the Riffa Views Invitational event at the new Royal Golf Club at Riffa Views Signature Estates ... and nearly paid the price too!
The GulfWeekly 'Play with a Star' auction winner scored the very first hole in one with an ace in The Riffa Views Trophy on the 1st hole of the 9-hole Par 3 'Wee Monty' Course, opened earlier by designer and golfing star Colin Montgomerie.
And stunned Dena was later presented with the bar bill at the prize-giving celebrations and told it was a golfing tradition for the first person to score a hole-in-one to pick up the tab for the night.
Fortunately her sporting rivals were only joking!
Dena, 49, a housewife from Jasra, said: "I wanted to be a part of this event because it is the opening of the golf course and it is a charity event.
"Also it is a great opportunity to play with some of the best golfers in the world. I picked Camilo Villegas because he is ranked number seven in the world and also a young and upcoming golfer - plus he is handsome!
"I have been golfing for about six years and could not believe it when I hit a hole-in-one on the first hole! When it happened I just couldn't believe it.
"Camilo was absolutely wonderful to play with and to watch. The whole experience was really overwhelming and amazing. I am definitely going to remember this for the rest of my life. To get a hole-in-one is one thing and then to get it while playing with a celebrity is another. I am on cloud nine and have not come down yet. The course was great too.
"I walked down with Camilo to take the ball out of the hole and it was such a great achievement. I teed off from the first tee box using the pitching wedge and all I wanted was for the ball to land on the green. All of a sudden it rolled in and that's when Camilo turned to me and said it was in the hole. When it was confirmed we hugged everyone. My husband David who was playing with Colin Montgomerie was over the moon for me and couldn't believe it.
"Colin Montgomerie came up and congratulated me during the prize giving at the Ritz. Michael Braidwood, the general manager of the Royal Golf Club, later came up to me and gave me the bar bill - fortunately he was only joking!"
Dena's prize was a series of Royal Golf Club golf lessons with top coach Chris Kelby - but after such a shot perhaps she should be giving rather than receiving the sessions!
During the weekend golf fans had the opportunity to get 'up, close and personal' with the visiting pro golfers - Monty, Camilo, Retief Goosen and Michael Campbell - in a series of VIP golf clinics and pro demonstrations at the new Royal Golf Club's practice range.
Celebrated trick shot golfers Kevin Carpenter and Geoff Swain performed some incredible stunts in front of an appreciative audience on the practice range before main event on Friday - The Riffa Views Trophy, a Pro-Celebrity-Am event over the new 9-hole Par 3 course.
Aside from the excitement of Monty opening the new course, and Dena's hole in one, the 42 amateurs, playing in two shotguns with the sporting greats, had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of 'The Wee Monty' - the name christened by the real life Monty during the prize-giving session.
The winner of the Riffa Views Trophy was Camilo Villegas' team with a net score of 39, 15 under par - the six amateurs playing with Camilo were Dena Wales, Simon Hart, Ashok Kumar, Riyadh Al Saie, Lynn Perry and David Axtell. Simon and David were also GulfWeekly auction winners and they received their prizes at a party held at the Ritz Carlton Bahrain Hotel & Spa.
