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Brinker Wins Tom Cousins Award at East Lake Cup
10/29/2021 10:49:00 AM | Women's Golf
DURHAM – At the East Lake Cup this week in Atlanta, Ga., sophomore Phoebe Brinker of the Duke women's golf team was presented with the seventh annual Tom Cousins Award. The honor recognizes a collegiate golfer(s) best representing the values of the award: excelling in academics and engagement in the community.
Brinker, a product of Wilmington, Del., organized the 2020 Senior Cup along with fellow golfer Taylor Roberts when they were seniors in high school. With the help of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Leadership Links, the duo hosted high school seniors who would shortly make the transition to collegiate golf in a Ryder Cup style match play tournament. The event was a final "send-off" for high school seniors after the cancellation of their final spring and summer junior golf season. More importantly Roberts and Brinker raised over $40,000 for the Emergency Golf Relief Fund and the AJGA's Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant.
"Throughout the process of hosting the Senior Cup, I realized the possibility of utilizing my fortunate position as a college golfer to impact lives," said Brinker. "After seeing the state of the world around me, I knew I wanted to use golf to make a difference, especially for juniors with the potential to earn scholarships and golf industry professionals who struggled to make ends meet due to COVID. I am so honored that I was able to build on relationships that golf has given me to give back to the sport. Both the AJGA ACE grant and the Emergency Golf Relief Fund are two incredible charities grounded in making golf accessible for everyone, a mission which I am extremely passionate about."
The Emergency Golf Relief Fund focuses on providing grants to industry professionals, inclusive of golf association members, employees of local/state associations, caddies and certain professionals playing on developmental tours to help offset financial hardships due to COIVD-19, such as living and medical expenses. This foundation supports a wide range of people in the golf industry, allowing them to continue working in golf and spreading the sport to their communities.
The AJGA ACE Grant benefits junior golfers who aspire to play collegiate golf by providing financial support. By helping players and their families afford the price that comes with playing golf, the AJGA ACE Grant has opened doors for countless junior golfers to earn college scholarships. Proceeds from the Senior Cup went directly to supporting juniors who may have never had the opportunity to play college golf.
It marks the second time Duke has won the Tom Cousins Award as the entire Blue Devil squad received the honor in 2019 for creating the Birdies for Babies program that raises money for the Duke Children's Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units.
At the 2021 East Lake Cup, Brinker and the Blue Devils defeated Ole Miss, 4-1, to advance to the championship match against Oklahoma State, before falling, 3-2. Duke has competed in the East Lake Cup on four occasions, which is tied for the most in the event's history.
#GoDuke
Brinker, a product of Wilmington, Del., organized the 2020 Senior Cup along with fellow golfer Taylor Roberts when they were seniors in high school. With the help of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Leadership Links, the duo hosted high school seniors who would shortly make the transition to collegiate golf in a Ryder Cup style match play tournament. The event was a final "send-off" for high school seniors after the cancellation of their final spring and summer junior golf season. More importantly Roberts and Brinker raised over $40,000 for the Emergency Golf Relief Fund and the AJGA's Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant.
"Throughout the process of hosting the Senior Cup, I realized the possibility of utilizing my fortunate position as a college golfer to impact lives," said Brinker. "After seeing the state of the world around me, I knew I wanted to use golf to make a difference, especially for juniors with the potential to earn scholarships and golf industry professionals who struggled to make ends meet due to COVID. I am so honored that I was able to build on relationships that golf has given me to give back to the sport. Both the AJGA ACE grant and the Emergency Golf Relief Fund are two incredible charities grounded in making golf accessible for everyone, a mission which I am extremely passionate about."
The Emergency Golf Relief Fund focuses on providing grants to industry professionals, inclusive of golf association members, employees of local/state associations, caddies and certain professionals playing on developmental tours to help offset financial hardships due to COIVD-19, such as living and medical expenses. This foundation supports a wide range of people in the golf industry, allowing them to continue working in golf and spreading the sport to their communities.
The AJGA ACE Grant benefits junior golfers who aspire to play collegiate golf by providing financial support. By helping players and their families afford the price that comes with playing golf, the AJGA ACE Grant has opened doors for countless junior golfers to earn college scholarships. Proceeds from the Senior Cup went directly to supporting juniors who may have never had the opportunity to play college golf.
It marks the second time Duke has won the Tom Cousins Award as the entire Blue Devil squad received the honor in 2019 for creating the Birdies for Babies program that raises money for the Duke Children's Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units.
At the 2021 East Lake Cup, Brinker and the Blue Devils defeated Ole Miss, 4-1, to advance to the championship match against Oklahoma State, before falling, 3-2. Duke has competed in the East Lake Cup on four occasions, which is tied for the most in the event's history.
#GoDuke
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