Myrtlewood Golf Club hosts tournament to benefit Make-A-Wish South Carolina

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Myrtlewood Senior Men’s Golf Association hosted a tournament to benefit Make-A-Wish South Carolina for the fourth year.

This year, the tournament was open to the community.

Not only did community members come out to shower their support and raise money for Make-A-Wish South Carolina, a 9-year-old, Kaleigh Noble, shared her special story.

“I got to go to Disney World for my Make-A-Wish trip,” she said.

Noble was just 6 when her life changed.

Her mother, Ann Noble, shared their story during the opening ceremony of the tournament. She was brought to tears as she relived the day she found out about her daughter’s diagnosis.

“But instead, I got a call from her pediatrician letting me know that she had leukemia and I needed to take her down to Shawn Jenkins hospital,” she said.

During the height of the pandemic, members of the golf association decided they wanted to give back.

“So, a bunch of us retiree guys sat around and said, ‘well, how can we make a difference?'” Chris Lovorn said. “And Make-A-Wish is the charity and organization that we partnered with. And it’s been a tremendous past three years. This year is even better than the past.”

There are 400 children in South Carolina waiting on a wish. 20 of them are from the Pee Dee and Grand Strand.

The average cost of a wish in South Carolina is $7,500. But for the past three years, Myrtlewood’s 60-plus members have raised more than $10,000 for wishes.

“This is just such an amazing organization that these wishes bring so much hope and joy to kids, especially when they’re going through so many doctor’s appointments,” said Kea Wade, a corporate and community engagement manager for Make-A-Wish South Carolina. “They’re getting, you know, poked and prodded with shots, are going through chemo treatments. Having a wish on the horizon gives them so much. Something to look forward to.”

Community members spent Wednesday playing golf, sharing stories and raising money with more than 80 players competing.

All of the money raised from the tournament is going to help grant local children’s wishes through Make-A-Wish South Carolina.

“So, we very much thank everyone for being here and hoping that we can provide more wishes for children like Kaleigh,” Ann Noble said.

The Senior Men’s Golf Association hopes to double what they’ve made in the past and be able to grant two wishes for children in South Carolina.