KIDS PUT CRANE TO TEST BEFORE TOURNAMENT
Golfer works on short game with help from patients
“It’s uplifting to see the joy on their faces in the midst of these circumstances.” Ben Crane, on his visits to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Ben Crane is in a good place. His troublesome right hip is much improved as he tries to turn around a season in which he has missed eight cuts and withdrawn once in 15 starts, his best finishes this year being a pair of ties for 37th.
Crane is in Memphis for the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind, a course he loves and one he handled in 2014 in earning his fifth PGA Tour title.
And he’s fresh off his annual visit to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where he joined Dustin Johnson, Harris English, Colt Knost, Zack Sucher, Oscar Fraustro and Byron Smith in meeting children battling lifethreatening diseases and sharing laughs and plenty of smiles.
Oh, and he sharpened his putting stroke in contests with the kids on a miniature golf course set up in the hospital.
“I dominated the kids,” Crane said with a big laugh.
Crane actually did beat Jacob Acurio, a recovering cancer survivor, in a three-hole contest. The stakes: a caddie job in the pro-am if Acurio won or having to do 10 pushups if he lost.
“He gave me 10 pretty solid pushups,” Crane said.
Acurio still got to caddie a few holes for Crane in the pro-am.
Crane receives as much as he gives in his visits to the hospital, which was founded in 1962 by entertainer Danny Thomas, who said, “No child should die in the dawn of life.”
The hospital cares for thousands of patients a year. Because of many fundraising events, no family has to foot the bill.
“I initially came here a number of years ago to try to encourage the kids and bless them, and their families, who are obviously going through some life-threatening stuff,” Crane said. “But now I come because it’s so uplifting to see their perseverance, to see their character, to see the joy on their faces in the midst of these circumstances.
“It’s incredible to go and try and put a smile on their face. Engaging with them, knowing their name, playing a little game with them, takes their mind off their everyday life, which is a lot of doctors and a lot of treatment and dealing with illness. It’s a mental vacation for them.”
In a good frame of mind, Crane now wants to get his golf going. Playing TPC Southwind certainly will help. Because of weather delays last year, Crane had to play 30 holes Sunday but held on to defeat Troy Merritt by one shot for his first victory since 2011.
“The hip is just starting to get healthy. My body feels good so now my game has to come around,” Crane said. “I’m still optimistic about this week. Last year I came into this tournament and my form wasn’t very good. But all it takes is a little something and everything changes.
“I’ll pull on so many great memories from last year. Every hole I have a pretty positive memory. There are horses for courses, and I can play well on this course consistently.”
Chip-in: FedEx announced Wednesday that it is donating $1 million to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the name of reigning FedExCup champion Billy Horschel. This is the first of a three-year commitment for FedEx, which will donate $1 million each year on behalf of the FedExCup champ.
“We are proud to support the groundbreaking research being done at St. Jude, ” said Patrick Fitzgerald, senior vice president of Marketing and Communications, FedEx Services.