Tournament Raises Almost $16,000 to Buy Special Golf Cart to Help Disabled Golfer

CURWENSVILLE/CLEARFIELD COUNTY, Pa — Cerebral palsy usually renders those born with it unable to move certain muscles, let alone play sports.

However, despite the disability rendering him unable to walk, Kenny Davis has been playing golf for years.

To keep hitting the links, Davis needs a specialized golf cart. At Eagle’s Ridge Golf Course in Curwensville, the Kenny Ryder Cup was held in a successful effort to raise $10,000 to buy that special cart.

Born with cerebral palsy, his family says he crawls on his hands and knees to putt.

“Ken enjoyed being out on the green today withinteracting with a lot of his friends and people he knows and some familiar faces,” said Lydia Quick, Kenny's soon-to-be cousin-in-law, with Kenny by her side.

She says Kenny’s love for the game came from his father.

“Ken’s dad golfed in Hawaii," she said. "He wanted to be just like his dad, so he was hitting golf balls in his backyard.”

However, as he gets older, he needs a specialized cart to keep playing.

“Getting this cart will be a big adjustment for him but will definitely help his golfing game even, even more," Quick said. "As he gets older, his knees are getting worse, but...he loves to golf, so he’ll continue to do that with this cart.”

That's why Kenny’s family and the course needed all hands on deck to make this happen, and event organizers say they got just that.

“The people of this community have been so supportive and all the golfers up here love Kenny, we all know Kenny, we all love Kenny and the guys came out," said Susan Spaid, a co-organizer of the event. "We have 21 teams today, which is just an amazing number of participants, so we’re, we’re just thrilled, we’re thrilled with this.”

She hopes the purchase will open the door to include more golfers with disabilities at the course.

“Kenny is kind of our, is, is the impetus behind it, is the catalyst if you will...but it will be here for other disabled golfers as well," Spaid said. "It’s just so important to be able to help people with disabilities be able to enjoy the game.”

The tournament raised around $16,000, meaning Kenny will soon get his new cart, clubs and have some extra left over for cart maintenance.

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