By, Angelina Liang
Opinion Editor
On Sept. 3, 32 year old Stacey Lewis pledged to give the entirety of her winnings towards Hurricane Harvey relief after she broke her three-year losing streak at the Cambia Portland Classic hosted by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in Portland, OR.
In a show of generosity, the golfer donated $195,000 to Houston charities dedicated to hurricane support efforts. Her sponsor, Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, matched her donation. Marathon Oil Corporation followed suit and donated $1 million to her cause, as well.
“It [was] one of my most special wins, just to be able to do this for the people in Texas,” Lewis stated in an interview with the Golf Channel.
Recently, Professional Golfer’s Association (PGA) player Chris Stroud also pledged $100,000 towards Hurricane Harvey relief. Stroud’s donation came after PGA golfers’ Sergio Garcia, John Peterson, and J. T. Poston all promised to donate to Houston relief efforts.
Lewis, a Texas native, also encouraged her competitors to bring old shoes for her to donate to displaced hurricane victims when she went home. She has lived in Houston since the age of 11, and her husband is the current women’s golf head coach at the University of Houston. While their home was unaffected by Hurricane Harvey, the two are dedicated to playing an active role in the recovery of their community.
“We’re going to be able to help people rebuild their houses,” the golfer stated. “That’s more important than any win.”
The Cambia Portland Classics is the largest professional golf event in the Pacific Northwest. From Aug. 28-Sept. 3, professional golfers competed in three preliminary rounds and a final round. Playing on the Columbia Edgewater Country Club’s 18-hole range over a four day period, Lewis, currently ranked 18th internationally, won in a field comprised of the top women golfers in the world.
On the final day of competition, Lewis entered with a three stroke lead over Thai golfer Moriya Juntanugarn and won the tournament with a one point lead over South Korea’s In Gee Chun.
Lewis’s victory at the Cambia Portland Classics was her first in 83 starts. Her three-year long wait exemplified her resilience both on and off the field and served as a sign of hope for all of Texas.
