News
Dodgers hold annual charity golf outing
Wolf, Billingsley help raise funds for Dream Foundation
Chad Billingsley hits a chip shot onto the green on the 10th hole. (Juan Ocampo/Dodgers)
By Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com
05/21/09 6:56 PM ET
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. -- Dodgers pitcher Randy Wolf just took up playing golf during the offseason, but when he was asked to play in the Dodgers Dream Foundation Charity Golf Invitational he jumped at the opportunity. Wolf was one of nearly 20 current or former Dodgers players, coaches or broadcasters who helped raise more than $140,000 for the Dream Foundation by hitting the links at Trump National Golf Club on Thursday. "I try to do as many events like this as possible but this is my first golf tournament," Wolf said. "I just started golfing so I'll probably embarrass myself out there. But it's fun." The event, in its eighth season, raises funds for the Dodgers Dream Foundation, which was founded in 1998 and helps create educational, athletic and recreational opportunities for the youth of greater Los Angeles. "The Dodgers Dream Foundation has been so active in the communities around the Southland," said former Dodger and current broadcaster Rick Monday. "The Dream Foundation as an entity has become synonymous with the Dodgers, and to get the community and the organization involved and do some good is what this all about." The tournament featured more than 140 golfers paired with a player, coach or broadcaster such as Monday, Wolf, Chad Billingsley, Fernando Valenzuela, Eric Karros, Bill Russell, Mariano Duncan, Derrel Thomas, Tommy Davis, Steve Yeager, Dodgers broadcasters Eric Collins and Steve Lyons, and local sportscasters Jim Hill, Michael Eaves and Patrick O'Neal. Billingsley joined Wolf as the two current players to participate in the tournament as the Dodgers had an off-day on Thursday before they host the Angels for a three-game series that begins Friday. "This is the third year I've been to this tournament and it's always fun and for a great cause," Billingsley said. "I try and do anything to help the cause and there's no better way to spend your day than playing golf." The event also featured a silent auction with autographed bats, jerseys and balls by Dodgers players such as Russell Martin, Orlando Hudson, Jonathan Broxton, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and James Loney. Other items of note included a Vin Scully autographed baseball from the 1988 World Series as well as travel packages to places such as Kapalua, Lake Tahoe and Laguna Niguel. The live auction featured an autographed pin flag from Tiger Woods, a four-night stay at the Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes with a round of golf and an Australian vacation with a five-night stay. Much of the funds raised by the tournament will help aid the Dodgers and their quest to build 42 Dodgers' Dream Fields around the local community, according to David Brennan, the team's community affairs manager. "It's a great day of excitement and we get to raise funds for the Dodgers Dream Foundation," said Brennan, who organized the event. "We're making 42 more Dodgers Dream Fields and the funds raised today will help contribute to those fields and other programs." The Dodgers have already built eight Dodgers Dream Fields and the fact that there are more on the way is something that Monday is proud of. "Now we have a chance to become involved in funding of the fields that will be used for generations," said Monday, who played baseball at nearby Santa Monica High School. "It's a way for those of us involved as players at the Major League level to participate and make sure we give back." The golf tournament was just one of many events the Dodgers Dream Foundation puts on throughout the year and that commitment to the community has long been a part of the Dodgers tradition. "I think that one of the staples for the Dodgers going back to the O'Malley family is giving back to the community and I think the McCourts have carried on that tradition as well," said former Dodger Eric Karros. "The Dodgers have always played an important role in the community."Rhett Bollinger is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
