Marc Leishman of Australia (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Honolulu, HI – As Marc Leishman plays golf in Hawaii this week, he’ll be playing for his home country.
Leishman, a Virginia Beach resident, is from Warrnambool, Australia. His homeland is currently being devastated by bushfires.
The No. 28 ranked golfer in the world has pledged to donate $500 for every birdie and $1,000 for every eagle he records during this week’s PGA TOUR Sony Open in Hawaii. Additionally, several other organizations have pledged their support to bring the total donation per birdie to $850 and $2300 per eagle.
The Begin Again Foundation, the organization founded by Marc and his wife Audrey, will also match every donation made up to $5,000. That money will go to support the Bushfire Disaster Appeal and WIRES, Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organization.
Click HERE to donate through the Begin Again Foundation.
UPDATE (Wednesday January 8th):
Per PGATOUR.com, the Presidents Cup – which was recently held in Melbourne Australia – and the PGA TOUR have committed to match any figures raised by any player in the Sony Open field up to $125,000. Smith and Leishman were both members of the International team in the competition.
“The devastation caused in this unprecedented national crisis in Australia is just terrible,” Leishman said. “I am calling on my fellow TOUR pros to join the cause and create enough support so we can maximize the donations from the Presidents Cup and TOUR itself as well. …This is a global crisis and a cause close to my heart.”
