Children take No. 1 spot at Shriners Open

You never forget the football player who broke his neck, the infant born with deformities, the child who was trapped in a burning car.

Eight years can't erase the story of the 8-year-old boy who went for a bike ride and was hit by an 18-wheel semitruck with such force that part of his head became detached and his spinal cord exploded and his lungs collapsed and his ribs shattered and his kidney was lacerated and his liver was severely damaged.

That's where Shriners Hospitals for Children get you.

The tragedy of it all.

The miracle of it all.

I'm not sure attendance or quality of field should ever hold a significant place in the evaluation of the annual PGA Tour stop in Las Vegas, not until those wearing rhombus-shaped, tasseled red hats are no longer involved.

I hope that's never the case.

I hope fall never arrives without a visit from Gary Dunwoody.

It always has been about so much more than whichever golfer lifts a trophy on a late Sunday afternoon each October, a tournament that began again at TPC Summerlin with Thursday's first-round play.

Rickie Fowler, who finished fourth in the FedEx Cup standings over the 2015 season and was the betting favorite before things teed off here, shot a forgettable 1-over 72 in near-perfect conditions while playing early.

He has no excuse. It was a really bad showing.

"I thought," Fowler said of his round, "it was horrible."

He needs to go low today to make the cut and ensure the event has its biggest star around for the weekend.

The world won't end if it doesn't. This always should be about the kids.

The images of my trip to Sacramento, Calif., in 2007 remain just as clear and touching as they were walking the halls of one of 22 hospitals under the Shriners umbrella, of talking with those who specialize in caring for children with orthopedic conditions, spinal cord injuries and burns. You never forget.

They have annually added features to the tournament that best portray an incredible world where the weakest among us are cared for at unfathomable heights.

It's no different this year. Adam Sperling made sure of it.

The event's executive director has organized a program in which 18 patients from various Shriners Hospitals in the United States, Canada and Mexico will act as standard bearers for rounds Saturday and Sunday, with the hope of matching them with players who hail from the area of the world in which they were treated.

Jameson Carroll is a 14-year-old from Boston who suffered burns over 33 percent of his body from a fire in his backyard, followed by months of skin grafts and other painful procedures. Keegan Bradley is from Vermont, attended his final year of high school in Massachusetts and then went to St. John's University.

If he would play well enough to go off late Saturday — not likely given how much he struggled Thursday — Bradley most likely would have Carroll as his group's standard bearer.

"Our No. 1 goal will be to make sure the kids are shown on the television block of coverage," Sperling said. "The most important thing is for these kids to have an unbelievable experience, and the pros see them and meet them and understand what the hospitals are doing for them. This year, we have patients from 18 hospitals. Next year, the goal will be from all 22.

"It's a luxury to have a multitude of ways to define success. Just as equally important as revenue and strength of field is raising awareness for the Shriners."

The message got somewhat lost when pop/movie star Justin Timberlake acted as the tournament's official host from 2008 to 2012. Timberlake was a columnist's dream in that he was never on time for scheduled events and arrived with an overly pushy and deranged entourage (is there another kind?), and the fact when cameras were turned off, he disappeared quicker than Tiger Woods when it comes time to leave a tip.

Timberlake's name and star power never drew the level of players tournament officials had hoped, and he reportedly never became as personally involved with the hospitals or their patients as those from the Shriners desired.

It just wasn't a good fit.

It's better now, more centralized to the overall mission, a tournament hosted by the corporation that provides all that incredible medical attention for free.

"We'd like to think the tournament is getting bigger and better each year in Las Vegas," said Dunwoody, the charming and affable chairman of the Shriners golf committee. "Am I personally and completely happy with the attendance? No. I'd like to see more people come out each year. But as our own title sponsor, we put out $4.5 million a year more than we take in. This won't ever be a moneymaker for us, but it's also not a loser for us because we're here and it's happening and all that it does for our kids.

"That last part will always make us a winner."

Why?

When you see those faces, you never forget.

And that little boy who was struck by the 18-wheeler years ago, who had his C1, C2 and C3 vertebrae separated, an injury similar to the one suffered by the late Christopher Reeve?

Twelve months after entering a Shriners Hospital for Children, he walked out of it under his own power.

I sure hope Fowler makes the cut and is around on the weekend, but it won't change a thing if he isn't.

Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on "Seat and Ed" on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Twitter: @edgraney