Sean Farren Scores a Hole-In-One For Smile Train
Long Island Golfer Dedicates Momentous First US Open Tournament to Helping Kids with Cleft
New York, NY — When Long Island pro Sean Farren learned that he had qualified for the U.S. Open last month, his heart skipped a beat. Farren had attempted 20 times previously to qualify for the Open, and he had finally achieved his long-held dream.
But he also had another goal: to use this success as a way to help kids with cleft lip and palate who have nowhere else to turn. For every par that he achieved at the Open, Farren generously donated $100 to his favorite organization, Smile Train. Now in its tenth year, Smile Train helps children with cleft lip and palate for as little as $250 and in as little as 45 minutes, giving them a new smile and a new life.
"I always told myself that if I qualified for the Open, I would celebrate by helping others," he said. "It made my first Open even more meaningful, knowing that the big smile I had on my face the entire time would equal smiles on children's faces who had never been able to before."
Farren qualified for the U.S. Open by going through a local qualifier and then finishing tied for second at a sectional qualifier when he shot a 3-under-par 138. Farren is currently the head pro at The Creek Club in Locust Valley, N.Y. and has been working his entire career to qualify for the U.S .Open.
At the Open, his group consisted of Andrew Parr and amateur Cameron Tringale, as well as a group of supporters rallying him on. Farren said he was thrilled to be playing so close to home so his friends and family could watch him play.
Although he didn't make the cut, Farren was happy to be playing in his first major championship. He finished tied for 147th with fellow Smile Train supporter Ernie Els. In his second round at Bethpage Black, Farren shot a 5-over-par 75. He made three birdies, four bogeys and two double-bogeys and finished at 15-over 155; the cut fell at 4-over.
"I was 5-over after my first five holes," Farren told the Valley News Dispatch. "Not a great start, but I got the finish I was looking for. I played the last 13 holes in even par. I guess the pressure was off and I played a little looser."
Sharing the same course with other Smile Train supporters like Kevin Streelman and Rocco Mediate was also significant for Farren.
"I grew up around a U.S. Open golf course, so I've been around the open all my life, and I've worked on golf courses since I was a kid," Farren said. "To qualify for an Open, it really was the cherry on top. Finally, I was inside looking out rather than outside looking in."
Farren's donation of $2600 to Smile Train will ultimately help 10 children who face lives of pain and isolation due to cleft lip and palate. For Smile Train President Brian Mullaney, there's nothing better than pairing generous donors like Farren with Smile Train's mission: that no child should be forced to live their lives with a cleft simply because their families can't afford the surgery, which can cost as little as $250 and takes as little as 45 minutes.
"We are so thankful to Sean, whose heart is as big as his dreams," Mullaney said.
ABOUT SMILE TRAIN
Smile Train is the world's leading cleft charity with thousands of partners and programs in 76 of the world's poorest countries. Our mission is to help the more than 4.7 million children in developing countries who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. We provide free cleft surgery to children from poor families that give children not just a new smile, but a new life. Now in its tenth year, Smile Train has helped hundreds of thousands of children.
