Laura Davies wasn't the only beneficiary of last month's inaugural U.S. Senior Women's Open.
The Wee One Foundation and those it serves also benefited from the first-time event held in mid-July at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois, that Davies won by 10 strokes.
A bevy of corporate sponsors stepped forward to help provide food and uniform golf shirts, hats and more for superintendent Scott Bordner's team of staff employees and volunteers that numbered about 70 throughout the week.
Anything that was left over was given to the Wee One Foundation. Although some bills continue to trickle in, the donation will be between $7,000 and $8,000, said Bordner.
Additionally, solar-powered, portable lighting used by the maintenance department was donated and now is being used by those in need in Guatemala.
"The team here was able to accomplish a lot on the course, but the things we were able to do off the course I am just as proud of. A lot of people on staff and companies allowed us to do a lot of good with the event and for that I am grateful."
One of the four clubs that founded the USGA in 1894, Chicago Golf Club originally was built by golf course architect Charles Blair Macdonald in 1892 and 1893 and was reworked by Seth Raynor in the 1920s. Since it opened, it has been the site of several USGA events, including the U.S. Open on three occasions (1897, 1900, 1911), the U.S. Amateur (1897, 1905, 1909, 1912), U.S. Women's Amatuer (1903) and the U.S. Senior Amateur (1979). It was only fitting that it was chosen to hold the inaugural Senior Women's Open.
Players raved about playing conditions, architecture, recent restoration work that included establishing fescue perimeters and the club's history.
"It was a treat. Not everyone gets to play here so we feel privileged for that," Davies said. "The conditions, I'm assuming the conditions are always like this, but it was spectacular.
"The USGA has put on a spectacular event. I mean it really is, the galleries that have come out, just sensational really to see a bunch of old birds play golf."
The Wee One Foundation was founded in memory of longtime superintendent Wayne Otto, CGCS, who died in 2004 of cancer. Its mission is "o assist golf course management professionals (or their dependents) who incur overwhelming expenses due to medical hardship without comprehensive insurance or adequate financial resources."
To date, according to its web site, the foundation has gifted more than $1 million to those in need in more than 20 states.
Those who helped support the event included: Advanced Turf Solutions, Arthur Clesen, Barenbrug, Bayer, BASF, BTSI, Burris Equipment, Chicagoland Turf, Cushman, EZ Locator, Floratine, Great Lakes Turf, GroHort, Harrells, Healthy Grow, Jacobsen, John Deere, JW Turf, Leibold Irrigation, Nufarm, Rain Bird, Reinders, Syngenta, Toro, Turf Ventures and Worm Power.