golf

Toby Keith’s annual golf tournament last week raised over $700,000 for Ally’s House, a charity that helps families deal with childhood cancer. The charity is named after one of Toby’s bandmate’s daughters, who died from kidney cancer.

The Toby Keith & Friends Celebrity Golf Classic took place in Oklahoma, and since Toby started the tournament five years ago, it has raised over $2.3 million for Ally’s House. Of course, to raise that kind of money, you need more than one country singer swinging a golf club — the weekend included not only the golf tournament, but also music and a celebrity auction. Many stars associated with country music, and quite a few celebrities we know from other arenas donated to the auction, including George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Loretta Lynn, Tom Hanks, Tiger Woods, Brett Favre, LeBron James, Andrew Agassi, Tony Stewart, and Peyton Manning. The biggest money maker at the auction was a chance to dine with Toby himself, which went for $35,000.

More than 750 people attended some portion of the weekend, and Toby was thrilled, saying, “I knew we could make a difference with Ally’s House, but it really is even bigger than I’d hoped. We’ve helped a ton of families, and we’re proud that we have never had to turn away an Oklahoma family that needs help.”

Photo courtesy of countrystarsonline.com

NBA greats Charles Barkley, Jason Kidd, George Gervin, and Clyde Drexler hit the greens last week along with some of their professional baseball, hockey, and football buddies to take part in the Pro Sports Team Challenge Golf Tournament at the Eagle Falls Golf Club at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. They played for pride — each team wanted to show that their sport had the best golfers — but more importantly, they were competing for a $250,000 prize for the charity of their choice.

Team Basketball chose the USO as their charity. Charles Barkley has worked with them in the past, visiting troops in Iraq, Kuwait, and Dubai. However, he didn’t have much hope for winning much money for the charity at the tournament, saying, “… my team sucks!”

Team Football was led by Drew Brees and included LaDainian Tomlinson, John Elway, and Michael Strahan, and they competed for Operation Kids. While all the guys on all the teams made an effort to say hello to the kids at the tournament, Michael Strahan stood out by spending time with every anklebiter he came across and signing whatever they gave him.

Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, Grant Fuhr and Pierre Larouche made up Team Hockey. Mario Lemieux, a cancer survivor, chose Hockey Fights Cancer as the team’s charity. They entered the competition as the team to beat because all four are well known for being excellent golfers.

Last, but not least, was Team Baseball, led by legend Ozzie Smith, who was joined by George Brett, Vince Coleman, and Bret Saberhagen, who were all playing for the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T), a charity that helps the families of players who have fallen on hard times. B.A.T. helps families with things like health care, medical, housing, burial, utilities, household expenses, and prescriptions.

The event was fun for all, especially for several young men who won contests that allowed them to participate in the tournament with the athletes. There was a good bit of trash talking (imagine that, with Sir Charles being there!), but it was all in good fun for a good cause.

To see which sport won the tournament, you’ll have to tune into Fox Sports Net on June 28 and 29.

Photo courtesy of azsportshub.com

The Travelers Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament is right around the corner, and Luke Wilson and Steve Guttenberg are signed up to hit a few golf balls to benefit kids.

The Travelers Championship used to be called the Greater Hartford Open, and it’s the sole fundraiser for the Greater Hartford Jaycees. The organization is made up of men and women 21-40 years old and focuses on leadership development and community service, and the proceeds will allow the Jaycees do things like deliver Thanksgiving baskets and distributing scholarships and grants to deserving kids.

The tournament will also benefit Paul Newman’s The Hole in the Wall Gang, which allows children with serious and life-threatening illnesses a chance to get away to camp (free of charge) and have the experience of just being a kid and being able to forget about their problems for a while.

The Travelers Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament will take place on June 18 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. For ticket information, check out the Travelers Championship website. I’m not sure about Steve Guttenberg, but I know Luke Wilson is considered one of the better golfers in all of Hollywood, so if you’re in the area, it seems like the tournament would be a fun way to pass a day. And it’s all for a good cause, so everybody wins!

Photo courtesy of pumatalk.com