Girl, 12, Gets LPGA Invite For Dying Mom's Wish
A cancer-striken mother's dying wish has earned a 12-year-old Florida girl an exemption to play in an LPGA tournament next April.
Dakoda Dowd of Palm Harbor, Fla., received a sponsor's exemption to the April 27-30 Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open near Orlando after real estate developer Bobby Ginn learned of Dowd's mother's wish.
"It's the right thing to do," Ginn told The Tampa Tribune. "Sometimes you hear about stories, but there is nothing one can do. This was a situation where we were able to do something."
Ginn had read about Dowd mother's condition in a story about the young golfer last summer.
"My mother is dying," said Dowd, who played on a girls' state championship golf team last year.
Her mother, 40-year-old Kelly Jo Dowd, is suffering from incurable cancer.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 but appeared cancer-free for more than two years after treatment. The cancer returned this year in an aggressive form in her organs and bones. The pain increases daily, The Tribune reported.
Her daughter said in last summer's newspaper article she hoped to play on the LPGA Tour some day.
Kelly Jo Dowd, asked about the remark, said her dream was to one day see Dakoda play on the LPGA tour.
Ginn said he knew at the time he wanted to make the dream come true but the announcement was delayed until this week.
"Hopefully she'll be there to see it," Dakoda Dowd said.
Doctors last July measured her mother's life expectancy in months, The Tribune reported. Now, although she has been hospitalized recently for a compound fracture of a vertebra, there is new determination.
"I'm fighting for my daughter," Kelly Jo Dowd told USA Today. "God willing, if I can make it to April, I'll get to see her play."
Dakoda Dowd of Palm Harbor, Fla., received a sponsor's exemption to the April 27-30 Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open near Orlando after real estate developer Bobby Ginn learned of Dowd's mother's wish.
"It's the right thing to do," Ginn told The Tampa Tribune. "Sometimes you hear about stories, but there is nothing one can do. This was a situation where we were able to do something."
Ginn had read about Dowd mother's condition in a story about the young golfer last summer.
"My mother is dying," said Dowd, who played on a girls' state championship golf team last year.
Her mother, 40-year-old Kelly Jo Dowd, is suffering from incurable cancer.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 but appeared cancer-free for more than two years after treatment. The cancer returned this year in an aggressive form in her organs and bones. The pain increases daily, The Tribune reported.
Her daughter said in last summer's newspaper article she hoped to play on the LPGA Tour some day.
Kelly Jo Dowd, asked about the remark, said her dream was to one day see Dakoda play on the LPGA tour.
Ginn said he knew at the time he wanted to make the dream come true but the announcement was delayed until this week.
"Hopefully she'll be there to see it," Dakoda Dowd said.
Doctors last July measured her mother's life expectancy in months, The Tribune reported. Now, although she has been hospitalized recently for a compound fracture of a vertebra, there is new determination.
"I'm fighting for my daughter," Kelly Jo Dowd told USA Today. "God willing, if I can make it to April, I'll get to see her play."
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