Ryo Ishikawa - Words Worth Remembering for 2012

    Ryo Ishikawa         Photo: Khalid Redza /Asian Tour via Getty Images

If you read this blog... even occasionally... you probably know that Japanese golfer Ryo Ishikawa is a favorite of ours.  We love the quiet reserve that earned him the nickname "Bashful Prince" ...and the exhuberantly colorful sartorial style that had one writer calling him "The Pink Pantster"

2011 was a challenging year for the young champion both on and off the course. He finished the season winless, and at 51 in the world, one spot shy of earning automatic qualification for the Masters.

He'll now need to make the top 50 a week before the Masters, or win on the U.S. PGA Tour, to qualify for a spot in the field at Augusta. To that end the player who was recently called "too intense"  by W#2 Lee Westwood, will be playing very... intensively between now and April.

When epic natural disaster struck his native Japan almost a year ago, the then-19-year-old announced that he would donate all of his golf earnings for 2011 to the Japan relief fund.  I don't know exactly how much that ended up being but by mid-October it was approaching $1.5 million.  It was what he said about his donation however, that earned Ryo Ishikawa a place on business writer Jena McGregor's list of the past year's most inspiring leadership quotes: 

“As my social status in Japan is getting higher, I believe that is one of the responsibilities, to provide for those people who are in need."– golfer Ryo Ishikawa, on his decision to donate all of his 2011 earnings to earthquake relief in Japan.


The list appeared yesterday at On Leadership the blog McGregor writes for TheWashingtonPost.com. She explains that she finds Ishikawa’s quote memorable for a couple of reasons, "...one is his use of the word “responsibility” to describe what he believes he owes the Japanese people because his status in the golf world has risen.  The second is his remarkable willingness to donate all of his earnings of last year to earthquake relief. So many people in power are paid far more handsomely than Ishikawa, and yet we don’t know of many who have made such generous gestures."

If you're a Ryo Ishikawa fan you can do what we did and send the inspiring golf star New Year message here.

A Chance To Play Winged Foot While Lending a Helping Hand

Winged Foot, The Putting Green at Dusk                                            Photo: Golf Girl Media

"Winged Foot is, in sum, a temple to the spirit of golf." -- Joseph C. Dey 
 
Winged Foot is magic. You feel it the moment you pass through its stately stone gate.  Even if you've never played golf... and know nothing of it's history... you sense the magic of the place. It's something that goes well beyond the iconic tree-lined fairways and sloping pear-shaped greens.

The exclusive slice of Westchester County that contains two of the country's top golf courses is beautiful... but not breathtaking.  What's breathtaking is an ambiance of cloistered contentment that surrounds the  majestic stone clubhouse and envelopes its private parkland.  Its allure transcends Tillinghast and his masterful "Golden Age" architecture.

I consider myself very luck to have been able to play both the East and West Courses and they remain my most memorable golf experiences to date, but as a private, invitation-only club, the opportunity to play at Winged Foot is very hard to come by.  So when a good friend of mine told me the story of Sue Memhard and the Emerald Heart Cancer Foundation it resonated on a couple of levels.

The Emerald Heart Cancer Foundation provides assistant to women facing cancer.  Sue is it's founder and a two time breast cancer survivor, she's now in treatment for the third time and has accumulated substantial uninsured medical bills herself.  As founder however, she's not eligible for Emerald Heart's grants so the foundation's Director of Grants, Elyn Jacobs has organized a raffle and is selling raffle tickets, in the form of tax-deductible donations for Sue, via Lend a Helping Hand charity.
The lucky winner and two friends will enjoy a round of golf and lunch at Winged Foot Golf Club. 

Tickets are $50 each and only 200 will be sold.   The drawing will be held on October 12th, 2011.  For additional information about Sue and Helping Hands see Elyn's blog post and feel free to email her with any questions you may have at elyn@emeraldheart.org.

To buy a ticket

Go to Sue's page at Lend A Helping Hand, click the DONATE button under Sue’s photo/bio, and follow the instructions for Paypal or credit card payment. In “Special Instructions” put “GOLF” and provide the email address at which you would like to be contacted if you are the winner.  You will receive a receipt for your taxes.

Helping a woman who's helped so many others is a truly commendable.  I thank you in advance for your support and wish you the best of luck at a chance to play Winged Foot. 

Derek Jeter: Memorable Golf Shots & Augusta Dreams

The weekend's biggest sports story didn't revolve around golf.  That's not to says there isn't a connection, however.

When Derek Jeter  hit the 3,000 mark on Saturday at Yankee Stadium,  he broke baseball records and secured himself a spot in the baseball hall of fame. 

Golfers and golf fans may wish to know a bit more about the mega-star's golf preferences, and while those preferences have surely changed somewhat in the couple of years that  have passed since the clip below was made, it does give you an idea of the ultra-famous short-stop's golf sensibilities.



And... Derek Jeter's Celebrity Golf Classic has been taking place for the past eight years and raising money for children's charities.  You've got to admire that... even it you're not a Yankees fan.

A Busy Fall Week for LPGA Star Cristie Kerr

As green leaves turn gold and days grow shorter, summer is a fast-fading memory in and around New York City.

However despite the tinge of regret that inevitably marks the season's end, a New York fall is always something to look forward to, as it inevitably brings with it a delightful, multi-hued foliage display and a new series of cultural events, festivals and museum shows. ~ September can be a busy month in NY and it certainly has been for LPGA Champion and part-time Gotham resident Cristie Kerr.

This past Wednesday there was the official ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Cristie Kerr Women’s Health Center at Jersey City Medical Center. The facility is state-of-the-art, and houses digital mammography machines and a unique breast MRI. Cristie helps fund the center through her Birdies For Breast Cancer charity, allowing both insured and uninsured patients to be able to receive services.

Later that afternoon Cristie joined LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan and a number of other LPGA players for a sponsor's summit.

The gathering took place at Manhattan's Hard Rock Cafe and was set up to present the business of the LPGA and the core values of the organization, encouraging prospective sponsors to get involved and take advantage of the sponsorship opportunities with the LPGA.

Then just yesterday was the annual Cristie Kerr Birdies for Breast Cancer Celebrity Golf Classic an event that raises funds the new Women's Health Center. It took place in the shadow of the statue of Liberty, at the dynamic Liberty National Golf Course.

LPGA players Natalie Gulbis, Morgan Pressel, Amanda Blumenherst, Jimin Kang, Michelle McGann, Kelli Kuehne and Hee Young Park participated as dis Boston Celtics star Ray Allen, former NY Mets catcher Mike Piazza, sportscaster Dan Hicks, Gossip Girl star Matthew Settle and PGA Tour winner Curtis Strange. There was the golf tournament and a competitive poker match. At the cocktail party... Cristie presented Curvature, her own wine label.

There's no LPGA tournament this weekend... the next one being is the Navistar Classic, that'll take place in Prattsvile AL... following that is the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge in Danville, CA. Then Cristie's off to Malaysia for the Sime Darby.

From the looks of things Cristie won't be slowing down as the seasons change.