A 92-year-old legally blind golfer gets hole-in-one

A man tees off on the 12th hole at the Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, June 12, 2007.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Leo Fiyalko, 92 years old and legally blind, got his first hole-in-one last month after playing golf for more than 60 years, a Florida newspaper reported on Friday.

In his prime, Fiyalko had a seven handicap but now needs help lining up his shots and finding his ball, the St. Petersburg Times said.

"It was my first hole-in-one, and I never saw it," Fiyalko said. "I was just trying to put the ball on the green."

Fiyalko meets weekly with a group of age 70-plus golfers to play nine holes. He made his ace on January 10 with a five-iron at the 110-yard (101-metre) fifth hole at Cove Cay Country Club in Clearwater, Florida.

Fiyalko has macular degeneration and is blind in his left eye. He only has peripheral vision in his right, forcing him to sit sideways to watch TV, according to his daughter.

One of his playing partners said it was obvious Leo had hit a pretty good shot. But the group didn't realize it was a hole-in-one until they got to the green and couldn't find the ball -- until they looked in the hole.

(Reporting by Jim Loney, Editing by Michael Christie and Eric Beech)