PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – While PGA Tour player Billy Horschel was practicing Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass for The Players Championship, the real star on the course was a golden retriever named Nola.
“Nola did great. We’re actually very surprised. Wonderful how she kind of worked through a lot of different sessions. The sound of the ball being hit, all the people, all the exposures, the weather, all these things,” said Daniel Clavel, Director of Procurement and Placement for K9s for Warriors.
Nola is a young golden retriever in training with K9s For Warriors, a non-profit organization based in Ponte Vedra Beach which trains dogs to become service animals for veterans. And walking inside the ropes was actually a training exercise.
“The dog’s able to make the right decisions and actually provide that service to a warrior when they’re stressed out, when their anxiety is there, they’re in work mode. So they’re helping that warrior get through those situations, they’re not thinking about themselves,” Clavel said.
This is the second K9s For Warriors dog that Horschel and his foundation have sponsored. And part of sponsoring a dog is getting to name it.
“My wife said NOLA for New Orleans obviously, which is very great to me. I love the city there,” Horschel said.
New Orleans is where Horschel, 38, became the only player to claim both individual and team titles at the Zurich Classic. Horschel is an eight-time PGA Tour champion and a Floridian at heart. He was born in Grant, Florida, attended the University of Florida and lives in Ponte Vedra Beach.
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“We’re really focused on impact giving. When we were able to sponsor the dog last year, we were able to see that we actually were able to save somebody’s life. That had a huge impact on Billy and Brittany and the foundation. When we had the opportunity to do it again it was a no brainer. We want all the dollars that we use to go to really change people’s lives here in Jacksonville,” said Brad Nelson, Executive Director of the Horschel Family Foundation.
While everyone involved enjoyed the day, the partnership means much more.
“There are 20 veterans a day committing suicide. We’re doing everything we can to combat that. Until there’s no veterans committing suicide, we’re never going to be done. For him to do this every year and continue to do it, it’s huge,” Clavel said.
K9s for Warriors have paired more than 1,000 veterans with service dogs to date.
And now Nola will be the next furry friend to help save a veteran’s life.