Campbell's ace earned her a Mercedes

One swing of the club gave Dayton resident Janice Campbell her 15 seconds of fame.

The 61-year-old Campbell, playing in the pro-am at the Patty Sheehan & Friends Tournament at Reno's Hidden Valley Country Club last week, scored the sixth ace of her golfing career at the par-3 161-yard 12th using a 5-wood.

This is the most memorable of them all because she is now the proud owner of a Mercedes Benz 300 C, which she picked up Wednesday afternoon.

She has one ace at Dayton Valley, her home course, and four aces on various California courses.

"I don't have a new nickname, but I have a new car in my garage," said Campbell, who carries a 5 handicap. "I knew I had hit it well; knew it was going to reach the green. I didn't physically see the ball go in. The person who has to attest the hole in one signaled that it had gone in.

"Everybody in the group and the people around let out a huge scream in unison. Then we started jumping up and down. I could see it bounce once and then went into a roll. They (aces) are good luck; sheer luck."

The Sheehan event was the first pro-am Campbell had ever played in.

"It was one of the most fun things I've ever done," Campbell said. "One of my friends wanted to get a foursome together."

One member of the foursome plays out of Empire Ranch and the other two ladies are from Reno. The group played with Florida native Marilyn Lovander.

Campbell felt she played sporadically.

"I'd hit one good shot and then hit four shots that weren't so good," she said. "I played with a lot of good people."

What's interesting is that Campbell admits that she doesn't follow the LPGA when it's on television, and she has only been to one other tournament, the Dinah Shore, which is played yearly in Southern California.

Campbell is one of the good ones in Northern Nevada as her low handicap would attest. She has the lowest handicap among the women in the Dayton women's club. She has been a member of two Silver Cup teams where 20 women from Northern Nevada, determined in a tournament, play 20 women from Southern Nevada. The tournament alternates sites each year.

Even more amazing is that she says she doesn't practice.

"I don't like to practice," she said. "I never enjoy practicing. I had back surgery in 2005, and it hurts bending over."

Campbell, who grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif., and worked for the Vons grocery chain for 32 years before retiring, said she took some lessons during the summer when she was in junior high from Bob Garcia. She didn't have the opportunity to play high school golf, however.

"I graduated in 1968, and the next year they allowed girls to try out for the boys team," Campbell said.

There are probably more than a few male golfers in the area that she would get the best of.