Helping hand : Pel’s Pals receives boost at LPGA event
Posted on Thursday, July 3, 2008
ROGERS - Two philanthropists found themselves center stage Wednesday at the P & G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship pro-am.
By virtue of their winning bid on eBay. com, Michael Bahn of Bentonville and Christopher Green of Springdale strolled the resplendent fairways of Pinnacle Country Club with former Arkansas Lady Razorback golfer Stacy Lewis, University of Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino and UA basketball coach John Pelphrey.
Their bid of $ 5, 100 won the online auction for two pro-am spots in the fivesome with Petrino, Pelphrey and Lewis, who played her first event as a professional at last week's U. S. Open, finishing in a tie for third. They kicked in an additional $ 300 on top of their winning bid.
The money will go to Pelphrey's recently established foundation Pel's Pals, serving children's charities with a special emphasis on neonatal care. The loss of Pelphrey's third child, John Patrick, to a rare blood disease in August of 2003 was the motivation for forming the foundation.
"Those two guys, Chris and Mike, who so generously gave to be a part of this, I just thought the camaraderie and the spirit of giving was pretty special," Pelphrey said.
The large gallery following the fivesome around Pinnacle created some anxious moments for Bahn and Green, but they said their playing partners helped put them at ease.
"Stacy and the coaches took the heat off," Bahn said. "They were pretty fun."
The fivesome combined for a 12-under 60 in the scramble format. Bahn and Green said they were impressed by Pelphrey and Petrino's play. The 3-wood that Pelphrey striped from 260 yards on the uphill par-5 18 th set up the final birdie of the day, putting his team on the green in two shots. He even showed some of the intensity he's known for on the bench, slamming his putter against his shoe after leaving a birdie putt short on the par-4 12 th.
"They both hit the ball very well," Bahn said. "They both play well. They pretty much answered anything we asked about the programs. I think they enjoyed playing with an LPGA pro and watching them hit.
"You couldn't pick three better Razorbacks to play with right now. Stacy is hot right now on the LPGA Tour, and you've got two new eras in the coaching ranks."
Lewis was the main attraction, signing autographs at every turn and eliciting the biggest reaction from the gallery.
"We heard a lot of'good shot Stacy, '"Pelphrey said. "Leading the U. S. Open after [three ] rounds and then what she did in her collegiate career, she's tremendous. She's going to have a chance to be a very good player. We're all excited about that because she's one of ours. But beyond that, she's a really quality individual."
Bahn said Lewis regaled the group with talk of her play at the U. S. Open, where she held the 54-hole lead.
"She told us a lot about the holes and how she played them," Bahn said.
She also served as her team's guide on the greens, reading all the putts. Green said playing with Lewis made Wednesday a day he'll "never forget."
"It was a good charitable event, and it was definitely a good time," Green said. "It was too much fun to worry about what we shot."
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