Maui wildfires: Collin Morikawa pledges $1,000 for every birdie he makes during the FedEx Cup playoffs to aid recovery efforts
- Wildfires have burned through Maui and destroyed more than 1,700 buildings
- Morikawa’s grandfather owned a restaurant in Lahaina, where fires tore through
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Collin Morikawa has pledged to donate $1,000 for every birdie he makes in the FedEx Cup playoffs to aid recovery efforts following the deadly fires that have ravaged Maui.
The golfer’s grandparents were born in Lahaina, the historic town on Maui which has been devastated by the fires that have claimed at least 53 lives. He still has relatives on Maui.
‘I think they’re all right, but just to hear… I woke up this morning, just checking the news, and to see how many people have passed away from that, I’m at a loss for words,’ Morikawa said.
Morikawa, who won the PGA Championship and the Open within two years after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, began the FedEx Cup playoffs on Thursday with six birdies in his opening-round 65 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
He posted his relief effort on Instagram on Thursday morning, and by the end of the day had decided to send the money raised to two Hawaii charities: Maui United Way and World Central Kitchen.
Collin Morikawa pledged $1,000 per birdie at the FedEx Cup playoffs to aid Maui relief efforts
Wildfires have burned throughout Maui and destroyed over 1,700 buildings and claimed lives
Morikawa grew up in the Los Angeles area, but he said his father used to spend summers in Lahaina because his grandparents were there.
The Morikawa Restaurant closed several years ago, though a local man happened to find a matchbook from the restaurant on eBay a few years back and worked through the PGA Tour and Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua to get it to him.
‘It’s devastating what we’ve been seeing. The before-and-after photos are just heartbreaking, knowing that my entire dad´s side of the family grew up there,’ he said.
‘My grandparents were born in Lahaina. We had the restaurant out there. That’s what the photo was. We went there as kids. It’s a special place.
Morikawa’s grandparents were born in the historic district of Maui which has been hit hard
‘It’s amazing how many things you take for granted really in life, and when you see that, it´s just heartbreaking.’
Morikawa is hopeful other people would join in on his pledge by contributing for his birdies. He still has 11 rounds left, and said that one friend texted him that maybe he could reach $100,000.
‘Look, it’s one of the best places in the world we travel to year in and year out to go to Kapalua, play golf there,’ he said. ‘I know I´m going to ask my sponsors, I´m going to ask people that I know just to help out.’
‘Anything helps – per birdie I make, whatever you can afford, whatever you want to put in. I´m going to be pushing hard to make those birdies, and hopefully everyone else can reach out and help out as much as they can.’
