PGA TOUR Wives Association raises money for Community PedsCare

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Sam Gibson, who turns 2 years old soon, sat on the ground in the cool shade between a pair of folding lawn chairs. He happily tossed his animal-themed domino blocks and occasionally rolled on the turf, squealing happily with his little cheeks scrunched into a grin.

Condon/PGA TOUR

Fred Funk was one of several TOUR players who entertained children with live-threatening health conditions at the Stadium Village on Tuesday.

The sunny grounds of TPC Sawgrass on Tuesday morning were a long way from the hospital. Sam has undergone more surgeries in two years -- seven at last count, with another one scheduled for next month -- than most people do in a lifetime.

Born with several life-threatening health conditions, including a serious heart defect and an illness of the diaphragm that causes his organs to move from his abdomen into his chest and squish his heart and lungs, Sam has 10 specialist doctors and four therapists.

"He was on life-support until he was about 25 days old. That's how old he was when we first got to hold him. I didn't even see him when he was born," his mom Jennie said. "We recently found out he has congenital scoliosis in his neck. He has mild hearing loss. He also has a feeding tube so we can feed him."

Sam was in the hospital until he was six months old but now lives at home with the assistance of Community PedsCare. It was through this organization that the Gibsons, along with at least a dozen other families, were able to spend a morning at THE PLAYERS Championship with PGA TOUR professionals, their wives and a few special friends.

"They are obviously in an unfortunate situation and it's kind of tough to see them like that but it's nice to know that we can put smiles on their faces, talk to them and take some pictures," Robert Garrigus, a member of the PGA TOUR, said. "It's an hour out of our time that means a lifetime to them."

Garrigus, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk, Fred Funk, Ben Crane, Calvin Peete and Tim Clark visited the Stadium Village to mingle with the kids. Jackson D'Ville (the mascot for the Jacksonville Jaguars), a clown on stilts and face painters also joined in the festivities. PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem also came out for the fun.

Activities included hitting golf shots on the UBS 17th Challenge (a mock 17th hole set up in the Stadium Village) plus a chance to putt, eat snacks and take Polaroid photos with the players.

"It's great to get the kids out and give them diversions from what they deal with early in life," Fred Funk said. "It's almost a circus, carnival-like atmosphere so I'm sure it's as fun for them as it is for us."

Funk appeared to be having as much fun as the children when he pushed one of the young visitors in a wheelchair, popping wheelies and careening quickly towards the putting green where the group stood for an end-of-day photo opportunity.

"He said he likes going fast," Funk said, grinning like one of the kids.

He and the rest of the TOUR pros offered tips to the children as they tried to clear the water and land on the mock 17th green. And, of course, sometimes the kids couldn't quite get the club to connect with the ball, so the players would stand behind them and give them a little "help" by hitting the ball for them.

When the children and their parents -- many of whom don't get to leave the house often -- finished aiming for the green, Funk, Love, Furyk and the Jaguars mascot tried the challenge. The cat mascot goofed around to make the kids laugh, tossing his club into the air after a water-logged ball and forcing Furyk to try a left-handed swing.

The event raised $50,000 for Community PedsCare, with donations from Jim and Tabitha Furyk and Ben and Heather Crane; THE PLAYERS' three Proud Partners -- UBS, PricewaterhouseCoopers and JELD-WEN; the PGA TOUR Wives Association; and THE PLAYERS.

Community PedsCare is part of the Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, which recently received a $500,000 commitment from THE PLAYERS Championship. The PedCare program offers in-hospital and in-home medical assistance as well as nursing, psychosocial and spiritual care for families.

Tabitha Furyk is a Community PedsCare committee member and helped arrange the event. She's been a member of the PGA TOUR Wives Association for 13 years, an organization that works to help families and children in the different cities that the TOUR visits. This is the first time the wives have put on a function at THE PLAYERS Championship.

"The TOUR wives association does something like this every week. Tabitha wanted to get involved in the Jacksonville area so it's something that's getting attention here this week but they do it 43 weeks out of the year," Jim Furyk said.

Tabitha invited the TOUR players, as well as their kids, wives and other family members, to attend the event on Tuesday morning.

"My whole premise here is I wanted families helping families," she said. "It's difficult to have our kids involved in a lot of charity things because they aren't old enough to do a lot of things so this gave us a chance to have families give back to families with their dad."

The families from PedsCare greatly appreciated the chance to live a semi-normal life for a few hours.

"It's crazy, it's a crazy lifestyle. Going out to do anything other than doctor's appointments is a treat. When we are with PedsCare we are a normal family. People aren't staring at us like, 'What's wrong with that baby?' " Jennie Gibson said. "We are normal when we are with them because everybody is different."