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Tournament Celebrities |
Joe McGuff
Joe McGuff lost his battle with ALS in February 2006, but his legacy
has gone on. A great community leader and a Pulitzer Prize winner, Joe was an
outstanding and well-respected sports writer for the Kansas City Star. But
perhaps most important, Joe is remembered as a caring husband, father and
grandfather. Today, his family supports The ALS Association in his memory,
making the 2010 tournament the 8th annual Joe McGuff ALS Golf Classic.
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George Brett
Countless words have been written about George Brett, the only man
to win batting titles in three decades, the last man to make an inspired run at
a .400 season, the only Kansas City Royals player inducted in the Baseball Hall
of Fame. Thousands of stories have been written about his hemorrhoids attack
during the 1980s World Series and his pine tar home run off of New York Yankees
pitcher Goose Gossage. Then, of course there were his 3,000 hits, the moment
when he hugged Bret Saberhagen after the Royals won the 1985 World Series, the
time he kissed home plate at his last game. The stories go on and on.
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George
Brett has always seemed just a little larger than life.“George was just
different from the rest of us,” his friend and teammate Jamie Quirk says. “We
would all go up to the plate thinking ‘I hope I can get a hit here to win the
game.’ George would go up there KNOWING he would get the hit. It’s just a
different mindset.” George’s mindset is to find a cure for ALS and has been
since the very beginning when his friend Keith Worthington enlisted his help to
raise money for The ALS Association’s first office in Kansas City. Keith’s
charismatic personality and George’s giving nature formed what became a winning
combination in the fight to end ALS. Before Keith died from ALS in 1984, George
promised him that he would continue to fight this fatal disease until a cure was
found.
As Honorary Fundraising Chair, George continues his charge to raise money
in the support of The Keith Worthington Chapter. George has been working to find
a cure for ALS longer than he played major league baseball! And, his dedication
to the cause has served to endear him not only to those in The ALS Association
but also to everyone in our community who knows his tireless work to raise
awareness of ALS. “I retired from the baseball field in 1993, but I won’t retire
from the fight against ALS until it is defeated.” |
Tom Watson
People have no idea how much money Tom Watson could have made recreating his
famous chip at Pebble Beach. In 1982, Watson was the best golfer in the world –
he had already won six of the eight major championships he would win – but he
had never won the tournament he wanted most, The U.S. Open.“Every golfer has one
tournament they want to win most of all,” Watson says. “For me, it was The U.S.
Open. America’s championship. All the majors were special. But that one just had
a little more meaning to me. It was my father’s favorite championship.” He
was tied with Jack |
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Nicklaus when his shot settled into the rough on the left of the 17th
green. Watson had beaten Nicklaus before. The two had what many consider the
greatest duel in golf history in 1977 at the British Open in Turnberry, and
Watson had won. Still, when Nicklaus was told where Watson’s ball was, he began
to accept congratulations. There was no way Watson could get the ball close.
Watson told his caddie Bruce Edwards, “I’m going to hole it.” And he did hole it
for a birdie. If it isn’t the most famous shot in golf history, it is certainly
in the photograph. It was Watson’s favorite victory in a career filled with
victories. He won the British Open five times, the Masters twice and a total of
33 tournaments. Beyond that, Watson has represented the game of golf with
unsurpassed class. He has co-written “The Rules of Golf,” because “What makes
this game special is the rules. It’s like life. You have to follow the rules.”
He has raised many millions of dollars for Children’s Mercy Hospital with his
annual Golf Classic. In recent days, he has worked hard to find a cure for ALS
after the disease struck his lifelong friend and caddie Bruce Edwards. “Damn
this disease,” he said after Edwards died on the first day of the 2004 Masters.
Still, when people remember Watson, they remember the chip. He has been asked
dozens of times to recreate it for commercials, for magazines, for photographs,
but he always refuses. The only time he has tried to recreate the shot was late
one night with friends, just for fun. “That shot was magical,” Watson says. “I
don’t know why people want me to try it again. Don’t people want a little magic
in their lives?” |
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