The first time Taryn Hutchins sunk a hole-in-one 12 years ago it was at a golf tournament in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She was a ”poor, single mother” back then.

”I couldn’t even afford to buy a drink for myself,” recalled Hutchins, with a hint of nostalgia.

On Tuesday, the mood was quite different.

Hutchins’ ace on the fifth hole at Bend’s Widgi Creek Golf Club during the second round of the Pacific Amateur Golf Classic was cause for celebration back at the clubhouse – on Hutchins, of course.

”It sure made my tournament,” said the Tacoma, Wash., player, glowing with excitement. ”I couldn’t believe it.”

It the second career hole-in-one for Hutchins, whose husband John is also playing in the 2006 Pac Am.

Grouped with Cecilia Worcester of West Hills, Calif., and Julie Armstrong of Beverly Hills, Calif., Hutchins said she aimed straight for the pin using a pitching wedge on the 89-yard par 3.

”I got more excited than she did,” said Worcester, the only one in the trio to see Hutchins’ ball fall in the hole. ”There was clapping, hugging, and jumping up and down.”

The threesome said they were glad to be grouped together Tuesday.

”You never know who you’re going to be paired up with,” said Armstrong. ”It was comfortable from the get-go. We had great chemistry.”

Worcester and Armstrong are part of a 12-woman group competing in the Pac Am from the Los Angeles Chapter of the Executive Women’s Golf Association.

”It’s unbelievably wonderful,” said Armstrong, a first-time player in the event. ”It’s so much fun.”

Yelm, Wash., golfer Pamela Clark, now in her fifth year competing at the Pac Am, is one of 24 golfers who are taking advantage of the tournament’s first-ever Senior Division, for women over age 60.

”I was glad,” Clark said of the new category, ”so I’m not competing with the younger women who have a lot lower handicap than me.

”It gives me a fighting chance,” she added, with a smile.

Even if her game isn’t up to par, Clark said, it’s the atmosphere – of both the golf courses and the competition – that draws her back to the tournament each year.

”I’ve played with some wonderful ladies,” she noted. ”They make the game fun and relaxed.”

To date, Clark has yet to qualify for the final championship round, staged each year at Sunriver Resort’s Crosswater Club during the Pac Am’s fourth and final day.

Even though she played just ”OK” on Tuesday, her spirits weren’t dampened.

”I don’t care how I play,” Clark said. ”I just love the course. If you win something, then that’s just an extra pleasure.”

Dorothy Walker is no stranger to amateur golf tournaments. She and her husband, Alvin, of Lakewood, Colo., regularly travel to events such as the Mesquite Amateur in Nevada and the recently held World Amateur Handicap Championship in Myrtle Beach, S.C. But this week is their inaugural visit to Oregon, and their first time playing in the Pac Am.

”For me, it’s about the chance to meet other people, and it’s a way to travel,” said Dorothy Walker.

Walker noted that she wasn’t any too thrilled with her gross score of 92 at Widgi Creek on Tuesday, several strokes over what she commonly shoots.

”I’m a pretty competitive person by nature,” said Walker, a retired physical education teacher. ”But it’s not so much competition against other people as it is competition against yourself.”

Today’s third round is the last day of competition for most of the 725 golfers in the Pacific Amateur. Only the two players with the lowest net scores after 54 holes in each of 31 flights will advance to the championship round Thursday at Crosswater Club.

Ada Williams of Bellevue, Wash., took the lead after the second day in the Women’s Division by firing a 63, the lowest score among all players Tuesday. Topping the Senior Women’s field is Judy Carter of Portland with a two-day total of 139.

A Central Oregon golfer moved into the leader’s position in the Men’s Division. Richard Grant of Redmond shares first place with Mark Lauren of Monroe, Wash., both of whom are at 134.

Neil Doherty of Snohomish, Wash., is currently in first place in the Senior Men’s Division at 135, while three golfers are neck and neck in the Mid-Senior contest. Larry Polete of Woodland, Calif., Bill Oppelt of Camarillo, Calif, and David McAlees of Bellevue, Wash., each posted scores of 135.

With a 36-hole total of 138, Lowell Herbert of Valley Springs, Calif., holds the top spot in the Men’s Super Senior Division.

The top 10 net scores in each division after two rounds (except the Open Division, in which gross scores are listed) are in today’s Scoreboard on Page D2.