61st Pro Amateur Golf Championship and Celebration

Gather together (safely, of course!) or stay in and make the Pro Am’s signature cocktail, the Swing and a Spritz!

Spending the evening in with your family? Download the Pro Am’s paddle and showcase your or your kids’ artistic skills—this year’s paddle can be colored however you choose! Once your artist has created something just right, raise your paddle up high and post the art on Instagram using #60thProAm.

If you’ve invited a few close friends for a gathering at home, share a selfie of your party and post your photo on Instagram using #60thProAm.

And while you’re joining in all the fun, don’t forget to participate in this year’s Virtual Paddle Raise!

 

We did it! With your help, we surpassed our need goal of $250,000 and our reach goal of $350,000 and raised $414,018 for the children cared for at Lurie Children's. Thank you!

It’s your last chance to raise your paddle for Lurie Children’s! Make sure to give today.

Virtually join one of our beloved golfers teeing off with one of our favorite pros as they get ready to enjoy the course at the Onwentsia Club, and raise your paddle for Lurie Children’s!

Tune in to watch Mark Rolfing, former pro and current golf commentator, moderate a very special virtual roundtable with David Abeles, CEO, TaylorMade, Bob Ford, Head Professional, Seminole Golf Club, and JJ Weaver, Augusta National Co-Head Professional.

An exciting message from the Onwentsia Club’s Golf Pro, Nick Papadakes, about what to expect at this year’s Pro Am. As you anxiously await the golf course in September, make sure to raise your paddle!

Join Stuart Larkins as he demonstrates his mixology skills by making the 60th Pro Am’s Signature Drink, the Swing and a Spritz, and raise your paddle for Lurie Children’s!

The Lurie Children’s Pro Amateur Golf Championship Virtual Paddle Raise kicks off with a very important message!

Ingredients

2 oz. Cucumber, peeled and sliced
2 oz. Vodka (your favorite kind)
1/2 oz. St. Germaine Elderflower Liquer (optional)
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
1/2 oz. Lemon Juice
Club Soda
Ice
Mint and cucumber slices for garnish

Directions

Muddle cucumber and mint
Add the cucumber mix to shaker, along with the simple syrup, St. Germaine, lemon juice, and vodka, and then shake.
Add your favorite club soda and garnish.

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In planning the inaugural Pro Am, members of the Founders’ Board wisely enlisted their friend John Ames, past president of the U.S. Golf Association, to help recruit professional golfers to take part. Originally the tournament was held on the Monday following the Western Open to attract PGA tour professionals to stay and compete for the $10,000 purse, a relatively large sum at the time. The tournament model was so well-conceived, it remains largely unchanged today.

The first Pro Am was held on Monday, July 31, 1961, at Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, Illinois. It raised $65,000 for the hospital’s “Free Care Fund,” designated for families who could not afford to pay for their children’s lifesaving treatments.

In its early years, the Pro Am attracted a number of golf legends, including Arnold Palmer, Chi Chi Rodriquez, Jack Nicklaus, Homero Blancas, Gene Sarazen, Julius Boros and Lee Trevino, in addition to entertainer Bob Hope. Today, golf professionals from top-rated, prestigious country clubs across the country are invited to play with the amateurs.

In 1970, the Pro Am added its first corporate sponsor: Marcor, Inc., the parent company of Montgomery Ward. Northern Trust was another early partner. In 1984, United Airlines joined as a sponsor and has supported the Pro Am every year since. United is the co-presenting sponsor of the 60th annual event and festivities, along with The Boeing Company. Corporate support has allowed the Pro Am to achieve record-breaking success for the hospital. Today, the event raises nearly $2 million annually.

To celebrate the Pro Am’s sponsors, golfers, and donors, in years past we have held the annual Dinner on the Bluff, which serves as the official tee-off event for the Pro Amateur Golf Championship. This elegant dinner is held at Shoreacres, the perfect setting to celebrate the Pro Am’s decades of friendship and philanthropy and to honor the important life-saving work taking place at Lurie Children’s.

The Pro Am is the most successful annual fundraising event of the Founders’ Board, as well as in the hospital’s history. Cumulative proceeds total more than $20 million, which has enabled Lurie Children’s to enhance patient care and to recruit renowned leaders in pediatric medicine and science.

Promoting the health and well-being of children and adolescents beyond the hospital walls is a critical part of our mission. For decades, Lurie Children's experts have partnered with community organizations throughout the city to reach youth where they live, learn and play and help them thrive. Now, with the support of philanthropy, we are excited to elevate this important work by launching the Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities.

Named for our previous President & CEO, the Magoon Institute will continue his 23-year legacy of unwavering commitment to pediatric health within the community context. It will serve as the hub for all community-focused initiatives at Lurie Children’s, expanding the efforts of the Healthy Communities program that was established in 2017. We will continue to build strong collaborations with community organizations and facilitate community-engaged outreach and research initiatives to advance and implement evidence-informed child and adolescent health programs and practices.

Lurie Children’s programs and services directly benefiting from recent Pro Am proceeds include: Medical Ethics; Perinatal Origins of Disease, Center for Pediatric Cancer and Blood Diseases; Epilepsy Center; Division of Neurology; Division of Neonatology; Division of Endocrinology; Section of Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal HIV Infection; and Department of Family Services.