As far as charity golf events go, it was the best response organizers could have expected.
The 2016 Team Jacobs Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charity Golf Classic teed off on Friday morning at the Sault Ste. Marie Golf Club and the event was sold out.
“It’s been the best response we’ve ever had to our golf tournament,” Team Jacobs Skip Brad Jacobs said. “We’re oversold and it’s great. We’re obviously looking to raise a lot of money today and with the support of all the people that have signed up for the tournament and all of the celebrities that have come to Sault Ste. Marie and all of the sponsors that we have, this event is going to do really well this year. We’re thrilled.”
The event featured 38 teams and 19 celebrities, which included Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Mike Babcock and Leafs Assistant General Manager Kyle Dubas, a Sault native.
For Babcock, the event is an opportunity to return to an area he’s familiar with.
“I used to come here to St. Joe’s Island as a kid,” Babcock said. “My grandparents lived here at one time so it’s great to be here.”
Babcock and the Jacobs rink have a past history after meeting at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
“I met the guys in Sochi and built a relationship with them,” Babcock said. “They tried to get me to come up last year but I couldn’t fit it into my schedule. It’s an honour to be here in the Soo.”
For Jacobs, the response to Babcock being in town was ideal.
“You can just see that people are thrilled to see Mike Babcock here,” Jacobs said. “To see the smiles on everybody’s faces, it’s special. He’s having a great time and we can’t ask for anything more.”
Among the other celebrities at the event were former NHL goaltender Marty Turco, curlers Rachel Homan and Kaitlyn Lawes and two-time Olympic gold medalist Heather Moyse as well as the members of Team Jacobs among others.
The event, which is raising money for the Team Jacobs “Follow Your Dream” bursary for Algoma University and the Sault Area Hospital Maternal Child Fund along with the Canadian Tire Jumpstart Program, has raised over $40,000 since 2013
The event also featured a dinner and auction Friday night at the Delta.