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Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Nykesha Sales, Debbie Black and Lindsay Whalen took part in the Celebrity Long Drive Competition at the Buick Championship on August 24 to raise money for local charities. The four players combined for 925 yards, winning a $3,500 gift for the First Tee of Connecticut, the players’ charity of choice.

Sales, an avid golfer who has her own charity golf tournament in the off-season, led the Sun contingent with a 301-yard drive at the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell. The booming drive fell short of ESPN personality John Buccigross’s winning distance of 350 yards.

Black was new to the sport of golf and took a lesson during the August Olympic break to prepare for the event. It was money well spent, as she reached the fairway with her drive and then vowed that golf would soon gain more of her focus.

The First Tee of Connecticut, formerly the First Tee of Hartford, provides golf instruction and life skills training to less fortunate youth from Hartford and surrounding communities. Last year, The First Tee supported over 1,000 kids from Central Connecticut. For more information on The First Tee of Connecticut, check out www.thefirsttee.org.

Other participants in the event included ESPN personalities, as well as reporters from local news stations. A total of $24,000 was donated as prizes for local charities. Along with the First Tee of Connecticut, the other three charities that benefited from the event were YMCA Read to Succeed, Klingberg Family Center and the Environmental Learning Center.