Holes in one are rare. Double eagles are even rarer. Two aces within an 11-hole span is so far off the charts, Golf Digest lists the odds of such an occurence at 67 million to one.

Those odds were published last week after former Pittsburgh Pirates pitching ace Steve Blass, teeing off on the back nine in a tournament, sank his 7-iron tee shot on the 154-yard, 15th hole, then repeated the feat with an 8-iron on the 175-yard, 7th hole.

Prior to his one-two punch at Greensburg (Pa.) Country Club, the 67-year-old Blass had authored one ace, some 13 years ago on a course in Florida that has since been dug up.

For those not old enough to recall Blass, he was the winning pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates over Baltimore in Game 7 of the 1971 World Series and the runnerup for MVP honors to Roberto Clemente. Blass, however, is perhaps better known for the mysterious loss of control that abruptly ender his career.

After winning 19 games in 1972, the 10-year veteran couldn’t get the ball over the plate the next season and his career abruptly came to an end. He walked away with a 103-76 record and a 3.63 career ERA.

Latest to encounter what is known as “Steve Blass Disease” was Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals. Ankiel, thought to be a rising star, became so wild he wound up converting to to an outfield position.

Blass, meanwhile, certainly has his short irons under control.

CHIP SHOTS: Fourteen-year-old Matthew McAfee of Orange traveled all the way to Tennessee to record his first hole in one. McAfee, playing with his great uncle Don Isley, sank a wedge on the 115-yard, 11th at Royal Oaks Golf Course. Big shots are nothing new to McAfee. Two years ago in a Little Linkster tournament at Chambers County Golf Club in Anahuac, he scored a double eagle . . . Joe Pal of Village Mills also got the chance to celebrate a hole in one. Pal, 69, aced the 140-yard, 8th at Wildwood with a 25-degree hybrid. The shot was witnessed by Eldon Soileau, Tommy Davis and David Watson . . . Harold Collins really knows how to celebrate his birthday. Collins, who turned 94 on Sept. 10, shot an 81 that day at Belle Oaks Golf Club. Congratulations Harold. That’s awesome . . . Jim Brown, with 4 points, won the Monday Seniors at Belle Oaks. Mike Hebert, Rufus Mier and Dennis Neef all tied for second with 1 point. Norm Pasche (No. 8) and Neef (No. 15) were closest to the hole winners . . . Format for the Seniors at The Babe was 2 Best Ball. On the front nine, the team of Larry Morris, Guy Van Cleve, Ron Overstreet and John Culbertson won with plus 2. On the back the foursome of Larry Stansbury, Joe Benoit, James Bolton and Bernie Johnson finished even to tie Morris’ team. Closest to the hole winners were Johnson (No. 2), Paul Bourgeois (No. 7), Tom Lawton (No. 12) and Pat Waite (No. 15) . . . The Bayou Din DogFight wound up in a three-way tie for the top spot. The team of Rick Pritchett, Larry Johnson, Ed Hetzel and Gary Fontenot finished 17&15. The foursome of Larry Norvell, Tom O’Grady, John House and Earl Miller finished 17&8. The team of Cole Lee, Ronnie Sciarilla, Hamilton Thillet and Johnny Sullivan was 17&5 . . . Entry deadline for the First Tee sponsored 2009 Babe Zaharias Fall Junior is today at 5 p.m. The event, played along the lines of Southern Texas PGA Junior Tour tournaments, is open to boys and girls ages 8-to-18. Tee times are are for 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 19. For further information, call Ed Campbell at 722-8286 . . . Bayou Din is hosting the IEA/Ben’s Kids 2nd Annual Scramble Monday, Oct. 12. Entry fee for a four person team is $500. Anyone interested in participating should call 861-2733.

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