Former U.S. Open Champion and U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin went to Iraq to visit U.S. troops with several other players in 2006 and 2009, and it spurred him to get more involved with military-affiliated charities closer to home. For years he has supported Folds of Honor, striking up a friendship with its founder, Lt. Col. Dan Rooney. Earlier this week at PGA Frisco, Pavin spent some time alongside veterans from the Dallas area playing golf through the PGA HOPE program.
Epic day of golf with the #PGAHOPE fam at the new home of @PGA in Frisco.
— PGA REACH (@PGAREACH) May 23, 2023
Special shout-out to the Northern Texas Section for leading our veterans in an awesome clinic alongside former Ryder Cup captain, Corey Pavin! 😁🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Ysx0JqjU9M
“It's a slam dunk for me to say yes,” Pavin said. “It was great out there. Some good interaction. What the PGA of America is doing to let them come out here and practice and play (at PGA Frisco) is a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned. I was just out there Monday to say thank you to them for serving. We wouldn't have – as I told them, we wouldn't have places like this if it wasn't for them serving. And they ensure our freedom, put their lives on the line. I mean, how do you say thank you to that besides thank you?
“I'm just proud of the military, what they do and what they have to put up with. And it's just sad that they're not taken care of better, but I think there's a lot of people that are seeing that and they have been taking care of them a lot better in the last, gosh, 15 to 20 years now. It's great to see.”
PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) is the flagship military program of PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America. PGA HOPE introduces golf to Veterans and Active Duty Military to enhance their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being.
