It was the first hole-in-hole of Joe Sakic's career and it couldn't have come at a better time.
Sakic, the retired Colorado Avalanche superstar, was playing the 17th hole in the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Lake Tahoe on Sunday when he hit an 8-iron 167 yards that two-hopped its way into the hole.
For the last three years, any player hitting an ace on the signature 17th hole at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course earned a $1 million bonus from tourney sponsor American Century, with the Kansas City-based investment company stipulating that half of the prize go to its primary charity benefactor.
Sakic will split the $1 million with Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation for cancer research. He was presented with a $500,000 cheque during the Sunday afternoon television broadcast of the event and even joked with reporter Jimmy Roberts that he now had more than enough money for the bar tab that usually accompanies an ace on the golf course.
"That's a shot you never imagine hitting," Sakic told the Golf Channel and NBC Sports. "I've never even been close before. ... "If you're going to do it, why not here?
"When it went in, I didn't believe it."
Sakic's ace was the fourth hole-in-one in the celebrity tournament's 22-year history.
The actual event was won by actor Jack Wagner, who narrowly beat Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Tony Romo.
- with files from wire services
