Shriners Hospitals for Children patients participate in championship Pro Am as part of Dream Team 


Three patients join professional for round of golf at Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Shriners Hospitals for Children Open invited three patients to participate in the Championship Pro Am on Wednesday, October 21st at the TPC Sumerlin.

Jalen Castle, 13, Anton Glass, 19, and Luke Grossnicklaus, 20, will partner with a PGA TOUR professional to form a competitive team, known as the Dream Team, for a round of golf and to help raise awareness for the healthcare specialty areas of Shriners Hospitals for Children.

“Jalen, Anton and Luke are truly an inspiration with their incredible stories about overcoming tragedy,” remarked Patrick Lindsey, Shriners Hospitals for Children Open tournament director. “Their determination and persistence to live a golfer’s life is awe-inspiring.”

Ever since learning to play golf when she was two, Jalen Castle has made the game her passion. Joining her high school varsity golf team as a seventh-grader, Castle was a member of the 2014-15 South Carolina High School All-State Girls Golf team. When she was diagnosed with scoliosis in June 2014, her family immediately began searching for an alternative to a spinal fusion. They soon came across the anterior vertebral body tethering procedure performed at the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Philadelphia. Castle had the procedure done in April, 2015 and was back swinging a golf club a mere six weeks later.

Born without the tibia bone in his left leg, Anton Glass had his leg amputated when he was five and was walking tall in his first prosthesis just a few days later. As he grew, Glass began visiting the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Tampa nearly every year to be fitted for a new prosthetic leg. Thanks to the Shriners’ staff, he has never held back from competing in high school golf tournaments or living a golfer’s life.

Developing a strong passion for the sport at a young age, Luke Grossnicklaus was diagnosed with schleroderma, a disorder that causes the body to attack healthy tissue. The disease settled in Grossnicklaus’ right leg, which prompted his decision to have his leg amputated at Shriners Hospitals for Children in the Twin Cities before he had even reached the eighth grade. Since the amputation, Grossnicklaus has won three high school state medals for golf and now plays at the University of Nebraska Kearney, walking 36 holes or up to 10 miles per tournament.

Tickets for Shriners Hospitals for Children Open can be purchased at shrinershospitalsopen.com/tickets or by calling 702.873.1010.  

Shriners Hospitals for Children Open invites military and first responder personnel to enjoy complimentary admission to the tournament grounds and The Hill. Also, this year fans 18 years and younger will receive complimentary admission to the tournament grounds and The Hill when accompanied by an adult.