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Clinton, Bush Go Golfing And Raise $1.8M For Tsunami Relief
By Geoff Oldfather
TCPalm News Network
HOBE SOUND, Fla. -- There he stood, former President Clinton, chipping balls on the practice green at the Medalist Golf Club in a driving, cold rain while just about everyone else had given up and gone inside.
The media horde, all the other golfers -- everyone but three reporters, a couple of cameramen and a stoic Secret Service agent holding an umbrella -- had been forced back into the clubhouse by the lousy weather.
"Sorry you guys have to be out in this," Clinton said, shaking his head, but grinning that famous grin. "I've played in worse."
He loves the game. He loves to talk. And he loves talking about the game, even when the wind is blowing and cold water is dripping off the visor of his baseball cap.
Not bad for a guy who's facing surgery today.
"I started when I was about 12," Clinton said. He was given an old set of clubs by an uncle and has been playing off and on ever since, he said.
Mostly on.
"I'd say my handicap now is about a 14," he said, grinning again.
And he talked about how that cold rain dripping into his collar might make it a bit hard to play.
"It makes it hard to concentrate," Clinton said.
But Clinton, former President George Bush, and golfing legend Greg Norman were concentrating on one thing in spite of the rain -- how to make the day worth it for about 60 golfers from throughout the country who paid $30,000 each for a chance to play a hole with each of them on Norman's home course, the Medalist in Hobe Sound.
And, despite Wednesday's relentless, chilly rain, the event went off as scheduled.
Called "Three Friends: One Goal," the event raised $1.8 million for survivors of the Dec. 26 Asian tsunami from 60 committed golfers, Norman said during a news conference earlier in the morning.
All three talked about what Bush called the "amazing" generosity of the American people -- who have donated an estimated $1 billion, Bush said -- and the need to keep the issue of tsunami relief in the news.
Clinton said one of his priorities is to make sure other countries also provide aid.
"One way to avoid donor fatigue is to make sure all the governments keep the commitments they've made," Clinton said.
Before the news conference club members and staff watched with a mixture of amusement and disbelief while a dozen TV crews set up, running cables from the club's locker room to the satellite trucks set up outside, and a gaggle of about 40 reporters from different newspaper, radio and television organizations milled around.
Chef Chris Cornelio stood in a doorway, taking it all in. Above his head, over the back bar, was mounted a huge great white shark.
"That's Norman's shark," he said."
A reporter labeled Norman the "Great White Shark" during the 1981 Masters Tournament. His golfing interests are run under the business called "Great White Shark Enterprises."
A plaque just over one end of the bar spelled out details of the shark's demise the way a headstone would glean a few bits of information about someone's dearly deceased.
"1,083 lbs. Port Lincoln. South Australia. Feb. 3, 1990."
Above it and mounted on top of a piece of skin from the actual shark was the hook that was used to take the shark.
"Not many people see this room," said Emile Belanger, the locker room manager of the club.
One of those who can see it whenever he wants is Medalist member Berry Bekkedam, one of the select 60 who paid his $30,000 and was waiting for a chance to get on the links with the former presidents.
Bekkedam called spending the money and having a chance to play, even in the rain, "a perk" of club membership.
And he said he wouldn't be talking politics on the links. For $30,000, politics are to be avoided.
"This is about just having fun. It's not that often that you get a chance to meet a former president, or two former presidents," Bekkedam said.
He said he'd heard about Clinton's reputation for moving the ball or taking more than the allowed number of mulligans.
And he vowed he'd be watching Clinton carefully, at least during his turn to play with the former president.
"I'll call him on it, clearly. Call him to the carpet, because we don't let that kind of thing happen here at the Medalist," Bekkedam said with a smile.
But it was a serious smile.
Less serious was Clinton's response to queries about his health, and the prospect of undergoing a minor operation today to remove fluid and scar tissue from a quadruple bypass he had in September.
"I'm just thankful to wake up every day," he said. "No, I'm not worried, I'll be fine."
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