A Champion's Impact

Ben Crenshaw (fourth from right) joined other Champions Tour players, former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon (far left) and those from Impact A Hero, a charity Crenshaw supports.
Paul Lester

January 31, 2011

By Heather M. Deranek, Special to Together, Anything's Possible

KA'ANAPALI, LAHAINA, Hawaii—Eight of golf’s all-time best. Nine different charities. Goodwill toward others. All the underlying theme of the Ka’anapali Champions Skins Game since the event was first played in 1988.

Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw, a winner in the Ka’anapali Champions Skins Game with partner Fuzzy Zoeller in 2009 and runner-up last year, supports Impact A Hero—with 10 percent of his winnings from this event going to the organization.

Impact A Hero is a non-partisan organization created in 2003 to provide emotional and financial support for severely wounded or disabled War on Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans and their families. The ultimate goal of the charity is to help veterans adjust to new circumstances and challenges that face them when they return home. Last week, Army Sgt. Richard Yarosh of upstate New York, Army Staff Sergeant James Johnson of Lake Charles, La., and Marine Lance Cpl. Ronny Porta of Baltimore, Md., were on hand to represent Impact Player Partners’ Impact A Hero and support Crenshaw in his quest to earn money for their charity.

Richard Lynch welcomes any veterans who wanted to be a part of the charity. He receives referrals from doctors and physical therapists and often reaches out to veterans and encourages them to be one of their “Heroes.” For Lynch, however, it’s not just “heroes” he reaches out to. Seven years ago, Lynch approached Crenshaw to see if he were interested in getting involved with the charity.

Crenshaw jumped at the opportunity to remain actively involved with the organization and has been part of it since. In addition to designating Impact A Hero as his charity recipient, Crenshaw also gives these wounded military veterans lessons on how to play golf.

“When I first got involved with Impact A Hero, I played an event in Sugar Land, Texas, and about a dozen ‘heroes’ from the charity came to cheer me on. It was really emotional for me to meet them. I was honored,” he said.
Playing golf is just part of the emotional support that Impact A Hero is intended to provide.

“These guys just want to return to normalcy as much as they can. Playing golf with Ben and supporting him at this event is a fun break for them, and it makes them feel really special,” Lynch said. “Ben is a high-class individual, taking time to reach out to these veterans the way he has. I am humbled by his generosity.”

As for Crenshaw, he is the one who is humbled.

“I feel so lucky to be a part of this organization and to know these men and women. I am looking forward to playing for them again and hope that I can win some money for them this year,” he said.

With all eight players familiar with the taste of victory, their desire to pull off a win in front of their peers before a national TV audience was no less than it would have been if competing at a major championship. Crenshaw, a World Golf Hall of Fame member, agreed.

“We just hoped to do good things at the right times,” said Crenshaw, who, along with the remaining seven players, had more than just bragging rights on the line again this year. Each player gave 10 percent of their earnings last week to the charity of their choice.

In addition to Impact A Hero, eight other charities benefited from the tournament:

Fuzzy Zoeller (Fuzzy’s Charities)
Bernhard Langer (4Kids of South Florida)
Mark O’Meara (Boys Hope Girls Hope, Cleveland Chapter)
Nick Price (The Nick Price Fund)
Fred Couples (The Discovery Land Company Foundation)
Tom Watson (Bruce Edwards Foundation, The First Tee of Greater Kansas City)
Jack Nicklaus (Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation)