PGA pro Keegan Bradley's annual charity golf classic returned to Vermont's Woodstock Country Club Monday, raising cash for cancer research.
Woodstock is where Bradley learned to play. For this year's meet-and-greet ahead of a golf tournament there, he brought tour buddies Brendan Steele and Jamie Lovemark with him.
'I want to thank everyone for coming out," Bradley told the guests who watched a skills demonstration and took part in a question-and-answer session with the pros.
From Woodstock, the athletes are heading to TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, where the top players on the PGA Tour compete in this weekend's Dell Technologies Championship.
"Boston's always a fun place to play," Lovemark said in response to a question from NBC Boston. "The crowds are awesome — they're really into it. It's a great course, too; lots of risk-rewards, and some interesting holes."
Bradley, Lovemark, and Steele have done well this year in the FedExCup points rankings. According to PGATour.com, Steele is currently ranked 25, Bradley at 47, and Lovemark at 54 in the FedExCup season points tally.
The players do need strong showings in Massachusetts to continue advancing into the most elite and potentially lucrative tournaments.
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"It's really huge to get to tour championships," Steele told NBC Boston. "So that's kind of first and foremost in our minds, and a good week in Boston would really do a lot for all three of us."
"It's a tournament I look forward to, just because it's kind of a home event for me," Bradley said of the Dell Technologies Championship. "It's a fun week, and there's a lot on the line, so we'd better go out there and perform."
Kaye Bradley, Keegan's mother, said she is excited to watch her son play at TPC Boston, and is appreciative that the tourney is relatively close to her home in Newburyport, Massachusetts, compared to most other stops on the rigorous PGA tour schedule.
"It is nice," Kaye Bradley said. "We don't have to get on a plane, and it's a fun tournament!"
The Keegan Bradley Charity Golf Classic benefits the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation in its support of the University of Vermont Cancer Center and Children's Hospital.
According to University of Vermont Medical Center staff on-hand for the golf event, over the past five years, it has raised more than $500,000 for research, primarily into pediatric cancer. Additionally, some of the money is directed to studying opiate addiction.
In 2012, Bradley's charity golf classic raised money for relief efforts following Tropical Storm Irene's assault on Vermont.
