The fog that covered the entire city all day Wednesday was still hovering, thickly blanketing the outer reaches of the long fairway out ahead.
Outside of the neon lights ringing around the massive chasms in the ground, you might have pretended you were teeing off at St. Andrews on a Sunday.
That’s the mirage Topgolf provided on Wednesday, but the purpose behind Paul George’s event was all real. As a part of the inaugural Paul George Foundation Topgolf Classic, the Thunder forward hosted a fundraiser to raise money for the construction for a brand new, kid-friendly fishing dock at South Lakes Park. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has designated South Lake Park as one of its official “Close to Home” Fishing Areas, which provides a convenient location for local youth to spend time outdoors and learn how to fish.
This new project is a continuation of one of George’s foundation’s two crucial objectives: to bring awareness to and provide resources for stroke victims and to encourage children to get outside enjoy wildlife through the sport of fishing.
With Thunder teammates Russell Westbrook, Jerami Grant, Terrance Ferguson, Andre Roberson, Raymond Felton, Patrick Patterson and Deonte Burton by his side, George addressed the crowd of 200 and got the event kicked off with a little humor.
“In basketball we say play ball,” George began. "I don’t know what you say in golf. Tee off?”
After the spontaneous laughter that ensued from the quip, George and his teammates dispersed out to the Top Golf bays and mingled with donors, grabbed a bite to eat and gripped and ripped some drives. As the evening wrapped up, George presented the night’s top scorers with hats, t-shirts and plaques and thanked everyone in the building for their support and the chance to spend one on one time with them.
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