Play For Her continues raising money for breast cancer research

Anne Walker wanted to capitalize on the opportunity.

Three years ago, her Stanford women’s golf team had perhaps the most people paying attention to it as any women’s squad ever in college golf. With stars like Rose Zhang, Rachel Heck and others, the Cardinal were a focal point of the sport, and thousands of people were following their every movement.

Walker wanted to make sure the team wasn’t only putting a good product on the course and excelling at tournaments, but also making a difference where it truly mattered.

Enter the Play For Her campaign. The event was tied to the Stanford Intercollegiate, one of the longest-running tournaments in college golf. The goal? To support breast cancer research and helping try to eradicate the disease.

“That first year, you know, the whole goal is just to bring awareness to these young women that it’s not an old person’s disease, that it’s an every woman disease,” Walker said. “No matter how old you are. And the earlier intervention, the better the outcomes.”

Last year, Walker’s college coach and idol, Nancy McDaniel, was back in the hospital fighting cancer for the second time. That’s when Walker wanted to do more. Play For Her became a fundraiser, with all proceeds going to McDaniel’s oncologist, Dr. Hope Rugo, and her research at the University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

They raised $290,000 for breast cancer research.

“It’s not so much on the therapies to prevent recurrence or battle it or imperative, but if we really want to move the needle, it’s on the research on the front end about prevention,” Walker said. “And less money gets given to that research just for a variety of reasons, and one of the best ways you can do that is to give directly to doctors.”

And this year, Stanford is again working to raise the bar for breast cancer research.

Last week, the Cardinal shared medalist honors with USC at the Stanford Intercollegiate, which is hosted by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, who lost her mother, Angelena, to breast cancer in 1985. This year, Play For Her honored Arizona State women’s coach Missy Farr-Kaye.

Farr-Kaye’s sister, Heather, died of breast cancer at age 28, and Missy was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30 and again at age 40. In November of 2020, at age 53, she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Her father battled colon cancer, too.

TaylorMade made a custom pink Play For Her bag that every player at the…