MCKINNEY, TEXAS—
It's a kids golf tournament founded by kids and run by kids to raise money for kids, a lot of money. The annual KidSwing golf tournament is in its eighth year and has now taken in more than a million dollars. To be exact, $1,01842.42. The new total was celebrated today at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club in McKinney after another full field of kids played a 9-hole best ball scramble.Golfers kicked off today's tournament by getting a standing ovation from several of the adult volunteers as the carts left for their first hole assignment. Awfully nice to get the applause before even hitting a shot but these kids worked hard for their day on the links.
They all wrote letters and canvased their neighborhoods to help girls like 4-year old Ariel, a patient with a hand difference at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. That's what got her big sister Hailey involved. "I thought I wanted to do it because my sister is in this hospital and I like that hospital so much. I like helping there with the kids."
Ariel was already hard at work practicing for the day she can play in this event, swing a golf club on the way back to the cart. She would soon like to join her sister and fellow patient Emily Merlau, who now gets to wear a green shirt for being on the tournament's committee. "Seeing these kids having surgery makes you want to help," Emily said. "You get to help children and you actually get to help run the process and it actually feels great to help."
For the last three years, KidSwing has had two tournaments a year, one in Dallas and one in McKinney. It thrilled the tournament director, John Wise, to pass the $1 million dollar mark at his event in McKinney today. "This event goes to the hand clinic for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children," Wise said. "Kids come in with different deformities, things they're born with, and they have an entire clinic at the hospital that takes care of these kids.
The idea for KidSwing started with Ben Sater when he was ten years old. He's 18 now and ready to head off to Austin College, but his major goal was by the time he left for school, this tournament would raise $1 million dollars and today, that happened. "It is just awesome! Eight years ago when we started it a million dollars didn't cross my mind, just amazing. But a few years ago when we had raised a total of 600 thousand dollars, we thought not too far away, in a few years it could be in that area. So we set that goal for the tournament raise that amount of money before I went off to college," said Sater.
"We're really, really excited, and so proud of all the kids who participate," said Ben's mother, Kim Sater. "Without all those kids who get passionate about it, like Ben, we couldn't have done it. They've worked really hard over the last few years."
