CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Caddy For A Cure showed its support for combat soldiers once again at The Honda Classic Cares Wednesday Pro-Am presented by Tire Kingdom. Through the participation of golf fans like Stuart Lestch of Delray Beach, who donated to caddy for Nick Price in the celebrity group, and with a donation from Jorge Cuervo of West Palm Beach, Caddy For A Cure was able to include seven combat wounded military veterans as part of the day inside the ropes with the celebrity Pro-Am group.
The unique charitable program has been raising funds since 2003 in support of multiple causes around the country by arranging opportunities to caddy for professional golfers in Pro-Am rounds. In addition to supporting combat wounded soldiers and the genetic disorder Fanconi anemia, Caddy For A Cure supported the charitable host organization of The Honda Classic, the Children’s Healthcare Charity.
Caddy For A Cure program founder and CEO, Russ Holden, commented, “We love working with the Honda Classic each year at this exciting event. Their philanthropic slogan ‘The Honda Classic Cares’ is completely synonymous with what we try to demonstrate with our wounded veterans and what they do through the Children’s Healthcare Charity.” He continued, “The tournament always has huge superstars, and celebrities, and for the first time, we were able to include a military hero to offer for caddy opportunities. This year’s group was no exception in star power with Nick Price, Roger Clemens, LPGA Player Alison Walshe, University of Alabama golf standout Emma Talley and double amputee SSG Brian Mast, who also happens to be running for Congress.” Holden concluded by saying, “We were so honored to include SSG Mast as a player in the group and to have six wounded military warriors as caddies. Of our warrior caddies, five came thru our close relationship with another great military support organization, Fairways for Warriors. All of these brave combat veterans love the game, find it incredibly therapeutic and were thrilled to be in the middle of all the action at The Honda. We just continue to be equally humbled and proud to see the collaborative efforts of many to help support children in need and to thank our brave men and women of the military thru the awesome game of golf.”
The warriors involved in the celebrity group, each of whom were injured during their service, included: SSG Brian Mast (Ret), Marine Corp Gunnery SGT Bryan Coons, Marine Corp Veteran SGT Al Haslam, SOC(SEAL) (Ret) Steve Kupcha, SGT Jeff Mahl, SGT Lito Santos and SGT Alex Trujillo. Facilitating the needs of the amputee warriors was 1SG Richard Conner of the Margate Army Recruiting Office, who volunteered to do whatever was needed to support his military brothers.
The true mission of The Honda Classic is giving back to the children of the community and while the tournament strives to provide Palm Beach County with a premier professional sporting event, the ultimate goal is to positively impact youth in need and create a brighter future for our community. The primary beneficiary of the Children’s Healthcare Charity is the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation.
All program caddy experiences may be found from the Caddy For A Cure website at www.caddyforacure.com or you may contact Caddy For A Cure directly for more information.