Phoenix Children’s Hospital opens new lab thanks to donations from Bubba Watson, Ping
Feb 13, 2015, 1:52 AM | Updated: 1:52 am
Phoenix Children’s Hospital opened a new facility Tuesday thanks to some generous golf-related donations.
Last year, PGA Tour star Bubba Watson and golf equipment manufacturer Ping presented $250,000 to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, according to PGA.com. The money went toward creating the Bubba Watson and Ping Golf Motion Analysis Lab, which will serve young patients with neuromuscular diseases and disabilities.
Watson and Ping, which is based in Phoenix, initially teamed up for a promotion called “Bubba & Friends Drive to a Million” after the golfer won his first Masters trophy in April 2012. As Watson looked to raise money for Phoenix-area charities, Ping donated $50 for each of the 5,000 pink drivers it sold.
In total, Watson and his family and Ping donated $360,000 to the project.
Watson was on hand for the festivities earlier this week as the lab made its debut.
Shane Barnhill, director of digital philanthropy at PCH, wrote on the hospital foundation’s website that the new lab will help hundreds of children who have movement disorders caused by conditions like cerebral palsy.
A team of specialists — orthopaedic surgeons, physical therapists, kinesiologists, pediatric-trained sports medicine doctors, physiatrists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and engineers — will soon have data from a computer-assisted motion analysis of the way each child moves and walks.
Barnhill added that the hospital staff is a big fan of Watson’s work, both on and off the links.
