Ryan McGuire played 100 holes of golf in one day in memory of his classmate who died of brain cancer. At 6-years-old, Ryan is undoubtedly the youngest person ever to accomplish the exhausting, yet exhilarating feat, which raised $45,000 for pediatric cancer research.
Ryan became friends with Danny Nickerson when they sat next to each other in kindergarten. Danny, who was being treated for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), had gained international fame just before starting school when he asked for cards, instead of toys, for his sixth birthday on July 25, 2014. The bubbly youngster was deluged with more than 400,000 cards and 40,000 packages. Sadly, Danny passed away in April 2015.
After Danny’s death, Ryan, an avid golfer since the age of two, asked his mom if he could honor his friend by participating in the annual golf marathon she organizes for the nonprofit Golf Fights Cancer. Cheryl McGuire agreed. With his grandfather Vin McGuire, a prostate cancer survivor, as his caddy, and cheered on by his classmates, Ryan teed off on June 17 at MGA Links in Norton. He completed 100 holes on the par 3 course with energy to spare.
Ryan was the day’s top fundraiser, and his pledges were specifically designated for DIPG research being conducted at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute by Danny’s doctor, Mark Kieran, MD, PhD, director of the Pediatric Medical Neuro-Oncology Institute.
