Spruce Grove boy lives his Masters tournament dream
"It's not even a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. No one gets to do that. It's super cool."
— Ethan Couch
That's a 13-year-old boy talking.
A boy who proved himself wrong this week, a boy who got his wish, a boy who fully understands just how lucky he was.
The biggest sporting event on the planet this week is the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga.
And Ethan Couch of Spruce Grove, Alta., was right in the middle of things, his big-toothed grin beaming on television screens all over the world.
You see, Ethan had this dream.
On Wednesday, with an international audience of fans watching every swing and putt, that dream came true when Ethan carried the bag for PGA golfer Kevin Streelman in the Masters' annual Par 3 tournament. It's a fun event, for golfers, families and fans. A little distraction before the real competition begins
Streelman ended up winning on Wednesday. In more ways than one..
Consider that professional golfers spend their whole careers, every waking moment, working for the chance to slip their arms into one of their sport's most coveted prizes: a Masters green jacket.
Then consider what Streelman said this week about making a little boy's wish come true.
"To be able to share that day with him," Streelman told CNN reporter Don Riddell. "It means a lot more to me even than winning a green jacket."
So, this was a really big deal. An experience that changed two lives.
At one point this week, Ethan and his mom, Jennifer, sat down with ESPN's Mike Tirico to talk about their experience.
Asked about the reaction to his story, Ethan told Tirico: "A got like a million tweets."
His twitter handle is @Couchie05.
"We just boosted your followers, big time," Tirico said. "Maybe you could retweet something of mine and I could get some of your followers."
Of course, the ESPN host already has 408K followers on @miketirico.
The journey that brought this boy to that interview started 18 months ago, after Ethan had brain surgery. He has a benign inoperable tumour that blocks his body's ability to circulate spinal fluid.
The day after, a nurse came into his hospital room and told Ethan the Make-A-Wish Foundation was going to grant his wish. The nurse asked him to think hard about what he really, really wanted.
"She walked out of the room," Jennifer Couch told Tirico, "and he looked at me and he said, 'I want to go to the Masters. I don't need to go home and think about it.' "
Enter Kevin Streelman.
"I had a daughter a year-and-a-half ago, and we had to spend a little time in the NICU (the neo-natal intensive care unit)," Streelman told CNN. "It changes your life, it changes your perspective."
Streelman, ranked as the 74th best golfer in the world, wanted to give something back. So he hooked up with the folks at Make-A-Wish, and they set the whole thing up
Ethan and his family were at home in Spruce Grove when Streelman called.
Mom Jennifer said they knew ahead of time, and taped the conversation.
"It was priceless," she said. "We were all crying."
"She bawled the whole time," said her husband, Jeff.
"I felt like I was going to pass out," Ethan said. "It was awesome. It's not even a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. No one gets to do that. It's super cool."
The Couch family is headed home now. Ethan has lots of autographs, and memories that will last him a lifetime.
"He's just such a great kid," his mom said. "And he is kind and thoughtful. We're just happy that this happened for him. I was very proud of him."
As for @Streels54, the man who made it happen - he probably ended up with a lot of more followers of his own this week, on Twitter and on television.
"There's things a lot more important than golf," he told Tirico. "To grant him just a little piece of my time, is an honour."
