Charity raffle in Bloomingdale offers Ryder Cup tickets

Golf fans, you knew gaining admission into the exclusive Ryder Cup tournament was a long shot from the start.

To buy tickets to this tournament running from Sept. 25 to 30 at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, you had to win a lottery last summer. Now if you want to see top European and U.S. golf pros compete, tickets are even tougher to come by.

But through July there’s still a chance to get in — and to help others at the same time. The Western DuPage Special Recreation Association, or WDSRA, is holding a drawing for a Ryder Cup grounds ticket package, valued at $920. The package is good for all six days of the tournament.

Tickets for the raffle are $25 each or five for $100 and the drawing will happen during the Bloomingdale Chamber of Commerce annual golf outing on July 12 at the Bloomingdale Golf Club, 181 Glen Ellyn Road.

WDSRA spokeswoman Lea Jackman said word-of-mouth and social media posts already have generated a lot of excitement about the raffle, racking up $200 in sales so far.

“We even had one woman from Ohio buy tickets,” Jackman said. “The Ryder Cup pits country against country, so there is interest in this beyond the borders of our state, let alone our county.”

Jackman added that the PGA won’t release the tickets unless WDSRA is able to sell enough raffle chances to cover the $920 face value. But she said with the early interest golf lovers are already showing, “that won’t be a problem.”

All raffle proceeds will benefit local residents with special needs. WDSRA serves more than 4,500 children and adults through roughly 1,500 programs, trips and special events each year.

The association offers Special Olympics and adapted sports programs, dance and art programs, as well as social clubs and camps. In addition, it provides a full range of inclusion services for any program offered through a participating park district, so special-needs residents also can join.

Participating WDSRA park districts are: Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Glen Ellyn, Naperville, Roselle, Warrenville, West Chicago, Wheaton and Winfield.

As a service to the community at large, the association also offers disability awareness programs that educate groups, such as schools, about living with a variety of disabilities.

For details on how you can help WDSRA by purchasing a ticket, call Jackman at (630) 681-0962, ext. 133, or visit wdsra.com.