Sign Up Now for the Birdies for Babies Program

DURHAM – As the Duke men’s and women’s golf programs near the conclusion of the fall seasons, the Birdies for Babies program is needing your support to help the kids at the Duke Children’s Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units.  

Next up for the men’s golf team is the Bryan National Collegiate (Oct. 29-31) and the Cal Poly Invitational (Oct. 30-31), while the women’s team closes the fall at the Landfall Tradition (Oct. 27-29).  

The men’s and women’s teams have combined to register 165 birdies and three eagles for $2,266 so far this fall.  The Blue Devils need more pledges for the 2023-24 season to get that number much higher heading into the spring campaign.  

Over the seven years of the program, which was created by former women’s golf national champion Virginia Elena Carta, the Blue Devils have raised $110,069.95.   

If you are interested in supporting Duke’s partnership with Duke Children’s, you can pledge for each birdie made during the season or make a one-time donation.  Pledges start at $0.50 and higher increments are welcome.  If the Blue Devils register an eagle (counts as two birdies), albatross (three birdies) or hole-in-one (four birdies), they will count as stated.

The creation of the Birdies for Babies program was spearheaded by Carta.  A native of Udine, Italy, Carta was a four-time All-ACC selection and the 2016 NCAA Individual Champion.  The 2016 WGCA All-America and Honda Award winner turned in an NCAA-record 16-under-par ledger of 272 as a rookie to register her first collegiate victory.  She became one of only four Blue Devils to win both a NCAA Individual and team NCAA title.

Duke Children’s is a 180-bed inpatient hospital within Duke University Hospital. The central outpatient clinic, the McGovern-Davison Children’s Health Center, is a 66,000 square-foot facility that is adjacent to the hospital and combines medical and surgical specialty services in one colorful, child-focused location. Additionally, there are numerous Duke Children’s primary care and specialty care clinics across North Carolina to care for the needs of children throughout the state. Duke Children’s is one of the largest health care…