Palmer donates $100,000 to Children's Hospital in Texas

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Ryan Palmer traveled to 26 places in 2009 for PGA TOUR events, but there's just one city that holds a special spot in his heart -- Amarillo, Texas.

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Ryan Palmer had five top-25 finishes in 2009.

That's home to the two-time TOUR winner and his family. So, when Palmer decided to make a $100,000 donation to a charity, he thought the Children's Hospital at Northwest Texas Healthcare System, located in Amarillo, was the perfect choice.

"Being on TOUR the last six years, I've gone to a lot of different cities and seen different hospitals and charities, like the Cook Children's Medical Center at Colonial and the Henry House in Fort Worth, J.J. Henry's organization. I've seen what they do and it made me realize what I want to do in Amarillo," Palmer said. "It's the biggest children's hospital from Albuquerque to Wichita Falls, and people need this hospital and children's place so don't have to go further down to Dallas.

"Being born in and growing up in Amarillo, there's not a better place to do this."

Thanks to his large donation, the Children's Hospital will now be able to make several improvements to the facility. A healing garden will be built outside the cafeteria, as well as the "Palmer Sports Zone" and the "Palmer Playhouse", where kids who are undergoing treatment or surgeries can visit these areas to play video games, watch one of the new TVs or interact with other children.

"We wanted to revamp parts of the hospital to give them time to enjoy being a kid. They can play video games or visit the healing garden outside the cafeteria. Even doctors and nurses will have a chance to enjoy fresh air, sit on the benches and view the nice water features," Palmer said.

And, of course, no outdoor spot would be complete to a golfer unless it had a putting green. The sunny new healing garden will feature a 300-square foot green for young golfers to hone their skills.

For Palmer, who has a two-year-old son of his own, helping children is his passion. He started The Ryan Palmer Foundation in 2004 and, over the past four years, they've donated scholarships to local children and helped youngsters in the game of golf. As he put it, he simply wanted to "help them achieve dreams they set for themselves."

Appropriately, Palmer's own golf dreams came true at the perfect place: Disney World. In 2004, he earned his first PGA TOUR title in his rookie season at the FUNAI Classic at Walt Disney World Resort.

The Texas A&M alum has won at nearly every level, from his four victories on the Tight Lies Tour in 2002 to a Nationwide Tour title in 2003 to his first PGA TOUR win in '04. Palmer's most recent PGA TOUR victory came at the Ginn sur Mer Championship in 2008.

Palmer's grateful that the game he loves has given him the opportunity to give back to others. The hospital has more than 40 pediatric subspecialties, including cardiology, infectious disease and orthopedics, and serves as the primary treatment center for children in the Texas Panhandle.

"What better place to donate than a Children's Hospital?" Palmer said. "We can give them a chance since some of the patients don't have the same chances as other kids."