Las Vegas, Nev. (Jan. 12, 2015)—There are rounds of golf in Las Vegas that are more special than others. Such was one of those rounds held recently at the PGA TOUR-owned TPC Las Vegas. This one hit close to home for many because it benefitted the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and featured a star-studded celebrity lineup. The annual charity tournament was hosted by Canon and featured a star-studded field of golfers including the likes of Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers and Jonathan Ogden in addition to Roger Clemens, Alice Cooper and other big names. –by Bill Bowman
John Walsh, whose son was abducted and killed in 1981, has been a national spokesman for children ever since. And for the past 15 years, Canon U.S.A. has lent a helping hand to help kids who have been exploited in addition to helping kids who have been abducted be found. This includes donating photographic gear to the program so photos of missing children can be circulated to branches of law enforcement in additiont to helong raise funds and awareness for missing kids. The golf tournament and auction help with the funding to help find the kids and track down predators.
“We have a lot of people who care about the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children,” said John Arnos, who along with his wife Sheila, also help spearhead the effort with Walsh.
Rock and roll legend Cooper said playing in the event is a no-brainer. “I play in 20-to-30 events a year but this is one I don’t miss,” said Cooper. “How do you not support something like this? And I have kids and now grandkids … an event like this is certainly one that everyone should support. I’m very impressed with their efforts.”
Arnos added the foundation–and this type of event–make a big difference in saving children. “Every penny goes to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children,” said Arnos. “The National Center is 30 years old today (Jan. 8) and they have taken finding children from 67 percent of the time to 97 percent and that’s just amazing. In those 30 years, the people at the National Center have brought home 199,000 children.”
The annual tournament has found a home at the beautiful TPC Las Vegas where it has been played for several years. The course is a Bobby Weed/Raymond Floyd design and features PGA TOUR conditions on a daily basis. The par-71 layout played host to the PGA Tour and Champions PGA TOUR for many years and pros such as Ryan Moore, Charley Hoffman, Kevin Na and others hone their games on the back practice facility and by practicing on the course during off weeks from the PGA TOUR. Want to play TPC Las Vegas? Click now to the official TPC Las Vegas website.