TORONTO – As the pros tee off for the U.S. open, a six-year-old Massachusetts boy played 100 holes of golf in one day and raised more than $30,000 for cancer research in memory of his deceased kindergarten classmate.
Ryan McGuire, of Foxborough, completed the epic round on Wednesday at the MGA Links at Mamantapett, a par-three course, in honour of his classmate Danny Nickerson who died in April of a rare and inoperable brain cancer known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG.
The heartwarming scene unfolded early Wednesday, with Ryan taking to the course with his grandfather Vin McGuire, a cancer survivor, serving as the six-year-old’s caddie, The Sun Chronicle reported.
“I just wanted to do it for Danny this year,” Ryan told The Sun Chronicle.
Ryan reportedly got the idea to play the 100 holes from his mother, Cheryl , who is the program director of Golf Fights Cancer, a nonprofit that encourages golfers to play and raise money for cancer-related charities.
As Ryan continued to make his way around the course, his classmates stopped by to cheer him on holding signs and chanting “Let’s go Ryan!”
While his original goal was just $2,500, he far surpassed it by raising more than $30,000. The altruistic kindergartner even asked for donations in place of birthday gifts. A new goal has been set for been set for $40,000 and donations can be made to Golf Fights Cancer.
“Amazing that someone from his class could care so much about him and do this – it’s a loss of words,” Daniel Jamieson, Danny’s father, told The Sun Chronicle.
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