Spaniard Jon Rahm Prioritizes Disaster Struck North Carolina Through His Ryder Cup Qualification Attempt

Oct 16, 2024 | 10:45 PM EDT

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Now that Hurricane Helene’s threat has lessened, what remains behind are the families and businesses looking to rebuild their homes and start anew. In its aftermath, the hurricane devastated the people, cost many lives, and caused the loss of billions of dollars in property. At this time, the people of the Southeast US need more help than ever, as food might be scarce and electricity would need to be restored. At this point, Jon Rahm and his team have come forward with a great initiative.

Amid his quest to qualify for the Ryder Cup, the 29-year-old will be teeing in his home country for the Andalucia Masters, but his performance will be helping the hurricane victims too. This DPWT event is his last for the 2024 season, and surely, Rahm will make it memorable and help the people in North Carolina. Rahm’s caddie, Adam Hayes shared a post on Instagram and said that their thoughts and hearts were with the devastated families.

And to help them, while trying to win on the DP World Tour, Rahm will also try to make as many birdies and eagles as he can. Hayes added, “For every birdie, we will each be donating $1000, and for every eagle, $2000.” The raised funds will be donated to Samaritan’s Purse, a relief group working on the ground in west North Carolina. Moreover, Hayed also noted that he and his wife are connected to local families, so if anyone wanted to help directly, they could Venmo.

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A post shared by Adam Hayes (@caddieadam)

This way, Hayes and Rahm are doing their part to support the families in need and give them the essentials needed to restart their lives. It is a great initiative, as many PGA Tour pros have also come forward with their plans for the victims. Luke List and Henrik Norlander pledged to the “Birdies for Augusta” initiative, donating $500 for each birdie and raising $7,000 and $8,500, respectively. But from LIV Golf, Rahm wasn’t alone in trying to aid the hurricane-devasted families in North Carolina.

Before Jon Rahm, HVIII began the fund relief initiative

Although Harold Varner III was born in Ohio, the 34-year-old pro spent more of his formative year in North Carolina. So when Hurricane Helene destroyed everything in its path, V3 knew he had to do his part. His team started preparing to help with any relief, from food to chainsaws, fuels, generators, and medical supplies. At first, Varner wanted to keep it private with no videos or broadcasts about his help, but after seeing the entire destruction, he noted, “We need to video this; people need to know how bad this is. We need more help.”

Thus, he shared an Instagram post and asked people to participate in this initiative. According to their GoFundMe page, the LIV Golf Pro has raised $23,975 to drop off relief in the North Carolina area. Talking about why he started helping people, Varner expressed he needed to be there for people who supported him.

In an interview with CNN to raise awareness about hurricane aftermath, the 34-year-old said, “You saw the devastation; you saw these things that you would hope would never happen to you, but you would hope, more importantly, that someone would come help you if you’re in a predicament like that. So that’s what we’re gonna do. You know, I’m trying to be as optimistic as possible.”

Fortunately, many people are coming forward with whatever they can help, and now with golfers like Rahm and Varner doing their parts, the communities will get the help they need.