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Las Vegas man golfs for 24 hours to raise $20K for Make-A-Wish

At 6:20 a.m. April 5, east valley-area resident Randy Wagner was bleary-eyed, sporting some stubble and in a fair amount of pain. He was also very happy and even a little chipper.

“I’ve got a blister on my right foot,” Wagner said. “I have back pain. I’ve taken a little Tylenol to take care of the muscle problem, and my hands are really sore. Other than that, I’m feeling great.”

At that point, the pit boss at a local casino was in his 24th hour of golfing at TaylorMade Golf Experience, 6730 Las Vegas Blvd. South. He was still a few thousand dollars short of his goal of raising $20,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the event he dubbed Wish Upon A Par. He had gone through at least three sets of clothes, and he had just sliced his ball into a ravine, yet he still seemed happy with how things had gone.

He chose the date to honor his mother’s birthday. She died 20 years ago. He chose the charity because he believes in the work it does.

“Make-A-Wish is a great organization,” Wagner said during the second time around the nine-hole golf course, when he had raised $14,000. “In my mind, there’s nothing worse than sick kids. It costs an average of $5,000 to grant a wish, so I’ve raised enough for almost three wishes, and I’m hoping to make it at least one more.”

At the start of the marathon golfing session, Wagner and a friend cheerfully bantered and compared shots, making calculations on how to improve it the next time around. About 10 friends kept him company over the 24 hours, switching out every few hours.

At 6 p.m., 11 hours into the attempt, Wagner got a visit from a Make-A-Wish kid, 6-year-old Aaron Keel. Wagner took a break to hit a few balls on the practice putting green with Aaron, who was less interested in accuracy than he was in distance.

“I’m not sure this is his game,” Wagner joked. “He might be a baseball player.”

For an hour or so, Aaron could relax and enjoy being a kid. Staff members of Make-A-Wish, Wagner and Aaron’s family enjoyed the perfect weather and the infectious joy.

“Aaron has sickle cell anemia,” said his father, Antjuan Keel . “He could be out there playing and dancing now, and then we we get him home — suddenly, he’s in pain. We never know. He’s having a good day today, though.”

As much fun as Aaron was having at the course, it wasn’t his wish. This was just a small break and fun outing for Aaron, who had to postpone the fulfillment of his actual wish: a trip to Disneyland.

“His baby brother is sick too,” said Aaron’s mother, Natesha. “He’s in a hospital in Salt Lake City. I drove all day to get down here for this. We had to postpone Aaron’s trip to Disneyland. We’re hoping to do it next year.”

Aaron’s 7-month-old brother, Antjuan Keel Jr., who his family calls A.J., was born with heart complications and is in Utah waiting for a transplant. The family lives here, so there have been a lot of trips back and forth. Both grandmothers have been lending a hand with Aaron, and Antjuan Keel said his bosses at Moon Valley Nursery have been helpful and understanding.

“Aaron got to see his brother over spring break,” said Antjuan Keel. “We had to get special permission to get him in, but immediately when they saw each other, A.J.’s heart rate shot up, and they were both so happy. A.J. came off the tubes a couple of days later.”

At about 6:30 a.m., 23½ hours into Wish Upon A Par, Wagner got a text and turned to his friends.

“That’s it. I just got a pledge for the rest of it,” he said. “That puts it over $20,000.”

They finished off one last round, and when he finally laid down his clubs after 24½ hours, Wagner had gone around the course 20 times and had played 180 holes, making 691 strokes. That averages out to a little over par, but as far as Aaron and the folks at Make-A-Wish are concerned, Wagner is their favorite golfer.

Visit wish.org.

To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.

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