FORT WORTH, Texas — PGA Tour golfers pinned maroon ribbons to their hats and a few wrote “L L L L” on their gloves and shoes to honor the victims of the Uvalde school shooting during the opening round of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Thursday in Fort Worth.
The four Ls are a nod to Robb Elementary School’s student mission statement of “Live. Learn. Love. Lead.” A gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at the school on Tuesday.
“Anytime you see stuff like that, I can’t imagine what those families are going through right now,” said Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked golfer who calls Dallas home. “It makes me sick to my stomach just to think about it. I can’t imagine what the parents are going through. I read some stories on it last night, just the DNA testing to find out if your 8-year-old is going to survive or not.
“Our prayers go out to those families and the deceased. There’s so much that happens past right now. There’s so much scar tissue for those kids that survived. I just can’t imagine what they’re going through. All we can do is just pray for them.”
Ribbons were available for players and caddies at the tee boxes on No. 1 and No. 10.
A message posted behind the ribbons had the student mission statement with the PGA Tour suggesting players could show additional support by writing their motto or “L L L L” on their hat, glove, shoes or yardage books.
“Being from Texas, it’s hard to swallow,” said Ryan Palmer, a Colleyville resident who played at Texas A&M. “There’s no doubt about it. It’s scary. The things that people go through mentally that cause them to do that, unfortunately the kids are dead because of it. You can’t explain it, to be honest with you.”
Added Patrick Reed, who lives in the Houston area: “It’s very tragic what happened down there, and all of our thoughts and prayers are out to all the victims and their families. It’s one of those things that it definitely puts a perspective on what we do. We play a sport for a living. Whether we’re traveling the world, playing in events, or whether you’re at home with your family, you just have to enjoy life and cherish life, because at the end of the day, you just never know when life can be taken from you.
“It’s so sad, and to be honest with you, the ribbons don’t even speak to how we all feel and how much support we have for them.”
