5 THINGS PGA Tour player Delaet and his wife Ruby speak about golf, helping families and the Graham Slam charity golf event

1.

MORE THAN $1.5-MILLION RAISED

More than $1.5-million has been raised for the foundation, which is focused on improving the health and wellness of children and supporting the development of junior golfers at all stages. “We have some new faces this year, which is kind of nice, and we have a lot of people who have been here since Day One supporting us,” says Graham Delaet. “We’re slowly evolving into becoming something very special, especially now that we have the kids ( junior golfers) involved.”

This year’s event, which is raising money for the Ronald Mcdonald House, kicked off with a gala dinner Wednesday night at TCU Place, followed by a golf tournament Thursday at the Willows Golf and Country Club.

“It’s always been very important, but now that we’ve had kids of our own, it just makes it that more real and it hits home how serious some of these situations are that families go through,” said Ruby Delaet.

2.

DELAET CUP RUNNETH AGAIN

The Delaet Cup, which will feature 24 of Canada’s top junior golfers representing East and West in a Ryder Cup format, will be played today, Saturday and Sunday at the Willows.

It’s the second year for the Delaet Cup held in conjunction with the Graham Slam.

“It’s super-neat for these kids to come and play in this type of weather, thankfully,” said Delaet.

3.

GOLFING SMARTER WITH AGE

On Thursday, Delaet talked about his golf routine and how his maturity has shaped up his mental game over the years.

Delaet says he will go to the gym for a 30-minute routine as a warm-up before arriving at the golf course about an hour before his tee time. He’ll hit his sand wedge first to get loosened up and then “slowly work through the bag.”

Typically, he’ll hit even clubs before his round and then oddnumber clubs following his round. Or vice-versa.

Rather than bombing away, “I am always trying to work the shots … and I like to manoeuvre the golf ball,” he explained. “As I get older, hitting the ball on the fairway, and at a good position, and trying to make it easy” are his priorities. He tries to simplify things and play smarter golf, not work harder.

4.

EIGHT YEARS

AS PGA TOUR PRO

Delaet, 36, has spent the past eight years on the PGA Tour.

He has played in 176 PGA Tour events, winning more than $11 million in official money.

The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Delaet, a Boise State University grad, grew up in Weyburn, where he also played competitive hockey and volleyball in high school.

He has five victories as a professional, including one on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa.

An avid outdoorsman, he has hunted in places such as Zimbabwe. He cites an Alaskan fishing adventure, where he caught a 55-pound king salmon, as being the trip of a lifetime.

5.

STILL ON THE MEND AFTER BACK PROCEDURE

The last PGA Tour event Delaet played was in late October at the CJ Cup in Korea, where he was forced to withdraw after two rounds for health reasons.

In what has been a shortened season, he has $251,630 in winnings and ranks 178 in the FedexCup standings and No. 200 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Delaet, who has previously had back surgery, underwent a stem cell treatment in January. He chose a cutting-edge treatment that included intradiscal stem cell injections to help with back mobility and long-term stability.

He continues his rehabilitation and has not given any sort of return date.