Golf’s voice in southwest Florida has been silenced.
Brendan Cunningham, a long-time announcer, died Thursday morning in palliative care at age 75.
Cunningham announced golfers at times in Naples such as the Chubb Classic of the PGA Tour Champions, the CME Group Tour Championship of the LPGA Tour and the QBE Shootout of the PGA Tour for decades, and did so in golf grades.
“I tell you one thing, golf has been very smart for me,” Cunningham said, drowning in a 2018 interview at QBE Shootout, the occasion of golf legend Greg Norman in Naples. “I can’t.
“Golf has given me more than I could give back. “
Cunningham has donated a lot of cash over the years, sometimes adding volunteering from the South Florida PGA Section to club professionals and The First Tee of Naples/Collier, which is a youth program.
The 2020 Chubb Classic in February is the thirtieth time Cunningham has named the pros at the Champions Tour event, which celebrates its thirty-third year.
He turned out to be the last for Octagon as owner and manager of the tournament for over the more than 22 years. Eiger Marketing announced as a replacement for Octagon two months ago.
“Brendan has been a fixed element of all professional golf tournaments in South Florida, and has been for the Chubb Classic almost from day one,” said Lesley Baker, who is recently senior vice president of Octagon’s held and controlled events, but also of the chubb tournament. director at one point and remained concerned about the occasion in the following years.
“His fondness for golf and for life has encouraged many, adding to me. Its unique charm can make anyone’s day more radiant.
Cunningham’s role of announcing each player before starting their game, and then returning later in the day the teams arrived at green 18 to announce the names of the goal fingers to the crowd. And he did it in every golf grade, with a constant.
“You will promptly move everyone to laugh with him,” said Geoff Lofstead, executive director of the South Florida PGA Section. “It’s endless. He enjoyed the game, enjoyed the other people in the game and everything he represented. He has been faithful for much of his life to volunteering for the game. “
Cunningham would possibly have stood out for his jovial presence and colorful outfits that included paired socks, but he took his homework seriously.
“It’s the most vital thing of the day, it’s starting your round,” Lofstead said. “He wanted everyone to know and feel it. “
Lofstead said he spoke to Cunningham’s wife, Ellie, on Thursday morning and needed a service.
Cunningham has had physical conditioning issues over the years: leukemia, colon cancer, colorectal cancer, and throat cancer; the latter silenced his voice for 4 months in 2003, but golf was still there. And brought it back. He came back after an emergency tracheostomy last October to announce it at the 2018 QBE Shootout six weeks later.
“The community of golfers from southwest Florida, Naples, the Shootout and anyone who has had the thrill of meeting Brendan has suffered a wonderful loss with his death,” said Greg Norman, founder and host of QBE Shootout, a member of World Golf. Hall of Fame. ” He was a friend of mine and the QBE Shootout for so many years; the tournament would probably not be the same without him and his unique voice on the first tee. We will miss him wonderfully and look forward to paying homage to him in a very special way at this year’s event. »
Due to the effects of tracheostomy, Cunningham joined his style by wearing colorful blankets around his neck.
Cunningham more than an advertiser at each and every level. He is a great supporter of golf, from young people to professionals. He entered the South Florida PGA Hall of Fame on November 13, 2018, a few weeks after his tracheostomy, but can still deliver a speech.
In the induction, the South Florida PGA split him into video tributes from hiking player Hale Irwin, tour player and TV analyst Gary Koch, and excursion player and television analyst Peter Jacobsen, a resident of Bonita Springs.
“The speech I gave about what golf has done for me,” Cunningham said, “wouldn’t be alive without playing golf. That’s the truth. “
Cunningham was born in Ireland and moved to the United States at the age of 5. He played football, even semi-professionally with the Roanoke Buckskins in the Atlantic Coast Football League, and in underground service for 18 years. He sold insurance and cared about genuine real estate.
In addition to professional tours in Naples, Cunningham announced at Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf when he was in St. Louis. Augustine and Savannah, Georgia, Champions Tour occasions in Boca Raton and Tampa when they were there as well as in North Carolina.
“I’ve been lucky enough to introduce more Hall of Fame golfers than any announcer in the world,” Cunningham said.
Golf even gave Ellie, longtime Marco Island resident legendary golfer and television analyst Ken Venturi brought them in.
In December 2016, he won the South Florida PGA Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes notable Americans who demonstrate leadership and humanitarian qualities, as well as integrity, sportsmanship, and enthusiasm for golf, while helping to advance the South Florida PGA Mission.
Cunningham also volunteered at times in the South Florida PGA section over the years, until 1990, adding his youth tour.
The First Tee, a national youth program that presents them with core values for instiling qualities that arise from the game itself and also has a chapter, is a treasure trove for Cunningham, who will leave a bequeaic contribution to the South Florida PGA Foundation that will move on to junior passlf and scholarships.
“I have no children,” he says. “These are my children”.
And he also took that role seriously, even before the start of The First Tee of Naples/Collier, one of the predecessors of the Gulf Coast Junior Tour, controlled through Cindy Darland, now CEO of The First Tee, Cunningham was already involved.
“The first time you met Brendan, folks,” she says. He was simply extraordinary and was a true role model. It was a long time and he gave of his time, and they were made known both internally and externally. on the golf course and in life.
“It’s a component of beauty. I’ve known them since I was 7, and many of them until they graduated. They have become a component of Ellie and her life. “
Despite the huge age difference, Darland claimed that the dates between Cunningham and the show’s youth were strong.
“Young people felt that too,” he said. Even our elders kept in touch with him. She showed up at a tournament, either the Chubb Classic or the Shootout, and was radiant because all the standard-bearers were young children of First Tee. , say hello, it’s very special.
“He’s so positive with them. He’s not afraid to be difficult at the right times, but even when he does, there’s positivity. The children understood it so well because they knew him. And they couldn’t wait to see what color his socks were. “
Cunningham followed the tourism professionals who have become familiar with him after coming to Naples year after year. He approached Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, who once said array “You are an inspiration for madness,” in relation to Cunningham’s fitness problems, and called him “Mr. Bionic. “
“I love it; I love watching it,” Norguy said at the 2018 Shootout. “He’s just a boy in love. For every day you have more on this earth, the earth is bigger because it is. he’s a smart person. “
Greg Hardwig is a sports journalist for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email ghardwig@naplesnews. com. Support local journalism with this special subscription offered at https://cm. naplesnews. com/specialbe offer /