Chris Stroud became a household name for a few days a few weeks ago during the PGA Championship. Stroud played in the final pairing with Kevin Kisner on Sunday afternoon, and although he fell short, it was one of the great tournaments of his career.
Fast forward two weeks. Stroud is now battling Hurricane Harvey in his hometown of Houston from afar. Stroud is slated to play the Dell Technologies Championship this week in Boston while his family is back home in north Houston. In the wake of Sergio Garcia and others donating money to relief efforts, Stroud has joined them, according to Golfweek.
After hearing that Houston Texans' defensive end J.J. Watt has raised more than $5 million for Harvey relief efforts, Stroud decided to donate $10,000 and also 10 percent of his winnings this week at TPC Boston. The PGA Tour, with help from Dell Technologies, also pledged $250,000.
Watt of course started a social media campaign to get several hundred thousand dollars, and it has now grown to $10 million.
Detailed Update.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) August 30, 2017
$6 MILLION!
New Goal: $10 Millionhttps://t.co/SR6DmnNbyM pic.twitter.com/82YUoyoy3u
For Stroud, it's incredibly personal. His wife, kids and friends are riding out the floods, and he can't get back to them. As Golfweek noted, they're safe, but not being able to get back to Houston was a concern for Stroud.
"All my buddies in the neighborhood were using my truck," Stroud told Golfweek. "I just happened to have a show truck type thing. It's jacked up about 4 feet in the air. It can go in about 5 feet of water, so they were using my truck to get around the neighborhood to go help people and pets and just everything."
Several other golfers are raising support on social media or sending love Houston's way, including Tiger Woods who helped build Bluejack National just outside of the city.
Heartbreaking images from Houston and throughout TX. Thinking about the brave & resilient people there & my friends at @BluejackNation
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) August 28, 2017
Thoughts and prayers with Texas and all the people affected by #HurricaneHarvey
— Justin Rose (@JustinRose99) August 28, 2017
As a Texan I ask for your help with relief efforts. I pledge 1k to @RedCross & challenge @JohnPetersonPGA @ColtKnost #StandwTEXAS @PGATOUR
— Kelly Kraft (@kkraft11) August 30, 2017