The Honda Classic Is More than Just a Golf Tournament

Posted by Dan Hauser

Updated on February 28th, 2013

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Published in Community Features

This week some of the best golfers in the world have gathered at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens for the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic. While everyone will flock to the Champion course to catch a glimpse of Tiger, Rory, and others try and take down the famed Bear Trap, the Honda Classic is much more than just the Thursday-Sunday tournament.

Wednesday’s Kenny G Celebrity Pro Am brought attention to something close to the hearts of not just the local residents but people from around the country, wounded warriors and veterans. Several wounded veterans took the course as caddies on Wednesday to raise awareness for two different charities. Caddies for the Cure aids victims of Fanconi anemia, which is a rare bone marrow disorder. The other charity, fairways for warriors, provides veterans with golf instruction and clubs. Four veterans, all wounded in either Iraq or Afghanistan, caddied for the host’s foursome that consisted on Kenny G, sportscaster Ahmad Rashad, Hall of Fame golfer and Old Palm resident Raymond Floyd, and Super Bowl winner Ed Reed.

The Honda Classic also works directly with several local charities in the area. They have partnered with the Children’s Healthcare Charity as well as the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, a foundation set up to advance and enhance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of childhood diseases and disorders. In addition to those two, the tournament has set up its own charity partnership program called Birdies for Children. Birdies for Children allows local charities to team up with The Honda Classic offering their donor base a chance to win a Honda automobile while the charity gets 100% of the proceeds plus a 10% matching donation from the tournament. The Birdies for Children program has already raised over $700,000 for local charities in Palm Beach County.

On top of the golf tournament and the week that leads up to it, The Honda Classic host a 5k run/walk every year in January to benefit Seagull Industries for the Disabled. Seagull Industries enhances the quality of life of developmentally challenged individuals though advocacy and educational, social, vocational, and residential programs. These programs are designed to encourage achievement, self-reliance, and economic independence.

For more information on this and all the other charities that The Honda Classic works with visit www.thehondaclassic.com.