LA QUINTA — For 67-year-old Miklos Kohary of Seattle, his ace carried special meaning.

Kohary aced the par-3 fifth hole on the Palmer Course at PGA West on Friday, the day after his father died.

“Nothing can be better than this. This is the ultimate experience. I made a hole in one, and it's on national television,” said Kohary, a member at both PGA West and Classic Club in the Coachella Valley. “It's the Bob Hope Classic.”

Kohary said he knew he had hit a good shot with his 5-rescue club on the 159-yard hole.

“I said, ‘Oh my God, this is going really straight,'” Kohary said. “An interesting thing is that before we started playing today, (pro) Vaughn (Taylor) comes up to me and says, ‘I told my caddie he's going to get a hole in one.' The whole experience has been surreal.”

A former pro soccer player who played for FC Koln in Germany and Rapid Vienna in Austria among other teams, Kohary wept as he reached the green to take his ball from the cup.

Kohary's ace was one of four recorded in the tournament Friday and continued the frenzied scoring pace. There have been seven hole in ones in three rounds.

The celebrity field also featured a hole in one Friday as actor Michael Pena made the first celebrity hole-in-one since 2006, when Roger Clemens had an ace in the inaugural year at Classic Club.

Pena's ace came on No. 7 at the Nicklaus Private Course at PGA West.

“It was one of those things where I hit a really good golf shot, and I was so in shock,” Pena said. “They were like, ‘You hit a hole in one. What?' It was unbelievable, and with the cameras rolling, it made it extra special.”

Pena used a soft pitching wedge on the 131-yard hole. It was his second career ace.

“The first one I had was a par-3 and 200 yards,” Pena said. “But I was by myself, and I was waiting for people. Someone's going to show up. Someone's going to show up and see my hole. But this one evens it out.”

Usually, the player who hits a hole-in-one has to buy the drinks.

So was Pena willing to buy drinks for the gallery?

“They should come to the party tonight where the drinks are for free,” Pena joked. “I'll tip for everyone.”