TAMPA, Fla. – On Friday morning, the fairways and tee packing containers at TPC Tampa Bay weren’t crammed with the sounds of one other spherical of golf, however the sound of a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} being raised for charity. 

When Bob and Donna Richie misplaced their son, Jason, to a automobile crash in 2009 they got down to elevate cash to assist different children that beloved sports activities as a lot as Jason did. 

“We just never knew where this would go from the beginning,” stated Donna Richie. 

Their targets was the Richie Hockey Foundation, which gives scholarships and free clinics to younger athletes each in Florida and across the nation. 

“It’s about improving confidence. It’s about improving self-esteem and it’s about some skill sets,” stated Bob Richie. 

READ: Youth program in St. Pete teaches life skills through golf

Six years in the past, in the meantime, the Richies determined to up the ante and commenced internet hosting the Legends of Sport Charity Golf Tournament to boost much more cash than earlier than. 

Now, the inspiration has the assistance of hall-of-fame athletes like Warren Sapp and Barry Larkin, who’ve each performed within the event for the final three years. 

The Richie Hockey Foundation, which gives scholarships and free clinics to younger athletes each in Florida and across the nation. 

“We talk about the people that come, the cause that it’s for, it’s a joy for me to come every year,” stated Sapp. 

Since the inspiration’s transfer to the Tampa Bay space, the Richie Hockey Foundation has raised greater than $2 million, and counting, for younger athletes to stay out their desires.

“Good people and an even better cause. That’s what I like to say,” said Sapp. 

True to the inspiration’s beliefs, the weekend additionally features a free baseball clinic and hockey goalie clinic coached by the identical stars. 

READ: Sarasota teen wins Steph Curry’s Underrated Golf Tour

“It’s really important for us to understand that our time as professional athletes, now ex-professional athletes, is gone. So we want to leave the game in good hands,” stated Barry Larkin. 

Over time this annual occasion has turn into greater than only a fundraiser. It’s a weekend of all-stars lending a serving to hand to tomorrow’s stars. 

The charity golf event raised $300,000 for youth sports activities. 

“I was that kid once,” says Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter Jackson. 

“And I know there was someone who gave me the opportunity to show me the right way and what it takes to be a professional.” 

This yr the charity golf event helped elevate greater than $300,000 on prime of the greater than $2 million the Richie Hockey Foundation has already donated.