99-Year-Old Plays 99 Holes for Cancer Research
Hitting four consecutive holes on par is a great start to the day for any golfer, but for Cy Breen it was the beginning of a long day ahead. Breen celebrated his 99th birthday by golfing 99 holes at the Cimmiron Golf Course in Cathedral City on Sunday. This near-centenarian uses his clubs to raise $10,000 to $15,000 dollars every year for breast cancer research.
?As an athlete I have a great appreciation for him. You have to age, but you don?t have to get old, Cy is the epitome of that,? says Cherie Gruenfeld, one of the five members of Breen?s crew who helped him through the day.
?We have been friends for over 20 years,? said another one of his caddies, Helen Di Lorenzo, ?This is just another show of his determination. He has a great attitude for life ? he feels that he is specially blessed and he just wants to give back.?
Breen was not always an avid golfer; he didn?t pick up the sport until his mid-70s. By the time he approached his 90th birthday ? his son-in-law, who is also an endurance athlete, put him up to the challenge of golfing 90 holes in one day. He has added one hole in each of the nine years since and raised over $125,000 for the Jody Klein Breast Cancer Fund.
The fund is named in honor of Breen?s stepdaughter who lost her battle with the disease in 2005. His wife, who was also diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago, is now living-cancer free. The two are involved in the local rotary club and numerous charities here in the desert.
?Life is a gift and I have to make the most of it,? says Breen. ?I feel that if I am raising money and helping with the research I have accomplished something.?
After teeing off at 7 a.m. Breen played eight and half hours of golf — hitting 16 holes on par and ending with a score of 446. That?s an average of four and half strokes for nearly 100 holes.
?At this point, I?ve just stopped thinking about age. After 90, it just became another number,? says Breen. ?I want to show people that if I can do it, you can do it.?
