The 19th annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic made its return earlier this month (June 2-3) to raise a record $1.8 million to benefit the OK Kids Korral.
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The fundraising event, held at the Riverwind Casino and Belmar Golf Club in Normal, Oklahoma, saw over 750 people in attendance for the weekend that included a record-setting auction at the Sawyer Brown-headlined, denim and diamonds-themed dinner.
Among the top bid items during the first night’s event included a guitar signed by Taylor Swift, a fishing trip with Toby Keith and Jimmy Houston, a dinner with Toby Keith, a Game of Thrones trip to Croatia & Spain, a guitar donated by Country Countdown USA‘s Lon Helton, as well as signatures from Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, Kane Brown, Parker McCollum, Cole Swindell, Jordan Davis, Brantley Gilbert, Russell Dickerson, Brett Young, Ingrid Andress, Maren Morris, Luke Bryan, and Jelly Roll.
Other auction items included sports memorabilia from celebrity athletes like NFL quarterback Joe Burrow, NBA star Steph Curry, and golf icon Tiger Woods. Various items from Ashley Furniture, Crew’s Cottage Carlton Landing, The Joinery, Red Fork Distillery, Kennel & Crate, South OKC Ace Hardware, LOREC Ranch Home Furnishings, and more were up for bid.
A golf classic closed out the benefit weekend on Saturday.
OK Kids Korral is a nonprofit supported by the Toby Keith Foundation, working to benefit families of children battling cancer. Last year, the event raised over $1.3 million, breaking another record then for the most money raised in one year. The event has raised more than $18 million for nonprofits since its inception.
This year’s celebration marked a special one for the longtime country star as he has been getting “back into fighting shape” since he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021. Keith has his sights set on an even bigger celebration next year.
“Next year, it’ll be the 10th year for OK Kids Korral, 20th year of my foundation party,” Keith told The Oklahoman at this year’s event (via press release). “We’re gonna celebrate a 10 and a 20, and we’re gonna blow it out. It’s amazing how much support we get. But it takes that kind of support to handle 300 families a year.”
Photo by Richard McLaren / Shock Ink
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