Dakoda (Koda) Dowd

Happy mother's Day From Dakoda Dowd

2006-04-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

The LPGA DESERVES a standing O for its recent act of kindness.

The governing body of professional women's golf is allowing 13-year-old Dakoda Dowd to play in the Ginn Open near Orlando from April 27-30.

That a 13-year-old is playing is not news - Michelle Wie has seen to that.

No, what makes Dakoda Dowd's entry into the tournament so special is the reason behind it.

Her mother, Kelly Jo Dowd, is suffering from terminal cancer and doesn't have long to live.

Kelly Jo Dowd - whose daughter has won numerous amateur events - has one wish: to see Dakoda Dowd play with the best in the world. And, thanks to the LPGA, she'll get it.

"It will mean everything to me," said Kelly Jo Dowd. "It's obviously a dream come true."

As for Dakoda Dowd... she's got a couple of wishes of her own.

"The only thing I really, really want is for my mom to be better," Dakoda said. "And my own room."

From Dakoda Dowd's Golf, An Ill Mother's Dream Is Realized

2006-04-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

Dakoda Dowd wants to live in a New York apartment when she heads to college in five years. She'll be a bass guitar player by then. Maybe even a champion figure skater, too.

Barring a miracle, Dakoda's cancer-ridden mother won't be around to see her daughter - one of the country's top golfers her age - realize any of those dreams. But mother and daughter will get to share another one real soon.

"This isn't about golf,'' Dakoda Dowd says. "This is about my mom, and her getting to see me play.''

Kelly Jo Dowd's wish - perhaps her dying one - is to see her little girl compete against the world's best. So Dakoda Dowd, a winner of countless junior events, will tee it up in the LPGA's Ginn Open near Orlando on April 27-30, after the Ginn Resorts heard of the family's plight and extended the invitation.

"It will mean everything to me,'' says Kelly Jo Dowd, who is fighting cancer for the second time in four years. "It's obviously a dream come true. There's no other way to put it. I'm going to take that day as one of the most special days in my whole entire life. This is a chance for me to do what I want to do.''

What she wants to do is this: Let women know she has terminal bone and liver cancer -and, realistically, only months to live - because she didn't heed the warning signs. She ignored a lump and waited months to get checked.

And through Dakoda Dowd's golf, the family hopes to get that message out to the masses, in part from the hubbub generated by the girl's appearance in the LPGA event.

But this is no publicity stunt. She can play.

"She's got talent,'' says Annika Sorenstam, one of Dakoda's idols and the women's top-ranked player who met her earlier this month and watched her swing. "She can really hit the ball. She's got a great head on her shoulders. She's really strong and her attitude is really something great.''

The story really begins about five years ago.

Dakoda Dowd was 8 and already earning national acclaim for her golf potential, becoming the subject of magazine articles that are framed and displayed in the living room of the family's tiny condo in a Tampa suburb.

It was December 2001, and Kelly Jo - a former Hooters calendar cover girl who worked her way out of the orange waitress shorts and into the company's management team - noticed a lump in her breast.

She was 36 years old. Ten months later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

"I'm not supposed to get this disease,'' Kelly Jo says. "I'm not obese. I don't smoke. I drink, but not nearly like I used to. There wasn't breast cancer in my family. I'm not a statistic. But I got it.''

So she fought it. Double mastectomy. Nearly two dozen lymph nodes removed. Intense chemotherapy. Every hair on her body fell out, her skin lost its glow and she felt nothing like the head-turner she once was.

"There's something that keeps me young at heart and willing to fight,'' Kelly Jo says. "And that's Dakoda. She's why I keep fighting. In the beginning, I wasn't going to. And how stupid was that? It's embarrassing for me to admit that. Anyone who doesn't fight and fight with their all is stupid.''

The first fight seemed won - until last May, when doctors found the cancer was back and worse than ever, now in her hip bone, her liver and nearing her spine. This time, Kelly Jo Dowd vows to fight harder; she started another round of chemotherapy April 6.

"When we had the opportunity to give Dakoda an exemption, I really didn't think about it,'' says Bobby Ginn, the CEO of Ginn Clubs and Resorts. "The strength they have individually and collectively is just unbelievable. I don't know if I could stand up to the pressure they're feeling right now.''

Kelly Jo met Mike Dowd in the mid-1980s at the Hooters restaurant where she worked. They'd strike up the occasional conversation, and eventually started dating. Eleven weeks later, they were married, and 5 1/2 years after that, they had a daughter to whom they gave a unique name.

Mike had two older daughters from a previous marriage, both of whom have names that begin with 'K.' He wanted to keep that trend going, but Kelly Jo preferred the name "Dakota.'' Eventually, they agreed on "Dakoda,'' which Mike shortened to "Koda.''

"Got my 'K' in there,'' he says.

She started golfing at 4, and made her first birdie before she turned 7. She's shot 70 from the men's tees and would be in the mid-60s if she played from shorter ones, her father says. She hits her driver long and true, and is confident enough to have photographers stand 30 yards in front of her while she swings.

"I won't hit you,'' she calls out.

Sure enough, the photographer is unharmed, although Dakoda giggles when one ball whizzes a little closer to his head than he'd like.

"This family is almost like the perfect storm in this,'' says Hooters co-founder Ed Droste, whose chain has raised more than $56,000 for the Dowd family and their medical expenses. "Kelly Jo and Mike just want to tell it like it is for women. And Dakoda Dowd is the blend of these two great people. I just dread when it's down to being two of them, because the three of them together are so great.''

Golf, Dakoda says, is a release from the reality of her family's situation - even though the reminders are everywhere when she plays. There's a pink breast cancer ribbon embroidered on her bag, and her mother's initials "KJ'' are embossed in pink letters on her irons and putter cover.

Her father wears the initials, too. On his right wrist is a tattoo with the initials "KJD'' with two ribbons for his wife, and "DFD'' with a cross for his daughter. The 'F' stands for Flowie, Dakoda's middle name and the name of a sister Mike Dowd lost to ovarian cancer in 1991.

"I want it to be at the forefront of my life for the rest of my life,'' says Mike, a counselor in the Pinellas County school system. "This whole process has been one horrible thing and 100 great things. It's tragedy and triumph. Every day, people treat my wife the way God wanted us to all treat each other. How many of us get that opportunity?''

Now that they're down to one income, the family sold its home and moved into a 600-foot condo at the Westin Innisbrook resort, site of the PGA Tour's Chrysler Classic and where Hooters arranged for Dakoda - who sleeps in the living room - to play golf whenever she wants.

"The only thing I really, really want is for my mom to be better,'' Dakoda says. "And my own room.''

They are, by all accounts, a regular family. They eat at Whataburger, McDonald's and Olive Garden. They just have a girl who hits a golf ball better than most people, and a mother who's sicker than most.

With her dream about to come true, one of Kelly Jo's outlets these days is trying to raise money for groups such as MakingMemories.org, which grants wishes to people diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. She and Dakoda Dowd also schedule mother-daughter days, so both can get their shopping fix.

Most importantly, though, the family just wants to be together, for whatever time they have left.

"Anything special that Dakoda does that I'm able to be here to see is the next special thing for us,'' Kelly Jo says. "It could be a tournament she wins. A day of shopping. Going to a concert together. Whatever comes next is what's special. The bottom line is it'll be her and me together, at least a little while longer.''

This One's For Mom says Dakoda Dowd

2006-04-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

Something very special was missing on a very special day for Dakoda Dowd.

The junior golfer was at Reunion Resort & Club, just west of Orlando, on Thursday to meet with the media and one of her heroes, LPGA Tour star Annika Sorenstam.

Dakoda Dowd was there alone.

The 13-year-old's mom, Kelly Jo Dowd, stayed at their Palm Harbor home because she had undergone surgery Wednesday to aid in the treatment of her terminal cancer.

There's no denying the bond between Dakoda Dowd and her mother. The youngster's golf bag does the talking for her.

Just under the embroidered pink ribbon patch symbolizing breast cancer research on the bag are the stitched words "Best Friends." And Dakoda's clubs are inscribed with the letters "KJ."

Dakoda "Koda" Dowd was at Reunion to meet the media and Sorenstam and to drum up publicity for the upcoming LPGA Tour Ginn Open the first LPGA Tour event played in Florida in five years -- on April 27-30. Dowd, an accomplished player who has won more than 185 junior tournaments, will play in the tournament on a sponsor's exemption.

It will give her mother a chance to fulfill one of her final wishes by seeing her daughter play in an LPGA event.

The breast cancer Kelly Jo Dowd thought she had beaten several years ago was discovered last May to have spread to her bones and liver. Kelly Jo receives treatments of radiation and chemotherapy, but the diagnosis is terminal.

As Dakoda Dowd waited on the driving range to meet Sorenstam, the extraordinary junior golfer exhibited characteristics of a typical teenager.

She embraced a guitar autographed by '80s rocker Huey Lewis that was given to her by event organizer Ryan Julison, who knew of Koda's musical hobby. Dowd would later have Sorenstam add her autograph to the guitar.

Getting a chance to spend time with Sorenstam was a little overwhelming for Dakoda Dowd.

"I've always admired her," Dowd said. "She's always so poised and has the best attitude. I want to be just like her. She's like a major celebrity to me. I'm anxious and excited. All of this has come really fast."

Sorenstam spent time giving Dowd tips on the driving range, but most of the tips related to life and not golf.

Dowd's nerves were obvious. She hit a few chili dips while she worked with her wedge shots. While changing clubs, she admitted to Julison, "I feel like I have a hole in my stomach."

Dowd said the biggest question she had for Sorenstam was how the LPGA's top player remained so calm after hitting a bad shot.

"I think the key is when you hit a bad shot, you have to forget about it as fast as possible," Sorenstam told the youngster. "Find the ball, and hit a new shot that will hopefully make up for it.

"You don't want a bad shot to drag you down the rest of the day. At the end of the day, a bad golf shot is not really going to change your life very much."

Dakoda Dowd said she's more excited than nervous to compete in the Ginn Open. She said she has a plan for dealing with nerves if she starts to feel intimidated while playing against women she has always admired.

"If I get nervous, I'm going to look over and see mom smiling," Dowd said. "That will take all the jitters away."

Sorenstam said Dowd should concern herself more with enjoying the experience than about the results.

"I think she's going to do great," Sorenstam said. "She just needs to play her game. I like her attitude. She's a neat little player with a lot of talent.

"To me, it's not just about results. It's about the learning experience and the journey she's just getting ready to begin."

Sorenstam said she thinks it's great the Ginn Open gave Dowd the exemption to fulfill her mom's dying wishes.

"(Koda) has such a strong mind," Sorenstam said. "This young lady is just not talented, she has such a good head on her shoulders. There are a lot of thoughts she'll be thinking about. I'm just glad we can make something great out of this. This is her dream. Hopefully she can show off to her mom."

Sorenstam is no stranger to dealing with off-course distractions. She has continued to play well despite going through a divorce over the last two years.

"It's tough," Sorenstam said. "I've had some personal issues the last two years. Luckily, when you do something you enjoy, it keeps your mind away from it.

"I think that's very important. Life goes on, and you have to make the most of it on the course and off the course."

Dakoda Dowd will undoubtedly heed that advice down the road. For now, the teenager will enjoy the opportunity to fulfill a dream that she and her best friend have shared before it's too late.

NHL: LIGHTNING: GOLF PRODIGY DAKODA DOWD TO DO ‘LET’S PLAY HOCKEY’

2006-04-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

13-YEAR-OLD PALM HARBOR RESIDENT PREPARING TO PLAY IN LPGA’S GINN CLUBS & RESORTS OPEN APRIL 24-30

Dakoda (Koda) Dowd, a 13-year-old Palm Harbor resident who will soon become one of the youngest females to compete at an LPGA Tour event, will offer up the traditional “Let’s Play Hockey” prior to the Lightning’s game vs. the Atlanta Thrashers at the St. Pete Times Forum Tuesday night (7:30 p.m.; Sun Sports, AM 620 WDAE).

Dakoda Dowd, who has won more than 285 junior tournaments, will be part of the 144-player field participating in the Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open at Reunion Resort & Club,near Orlando, April 24-30, playing alongside the best professional ladies golfers in the world. Dakoda Dowd is the nation’s top-ranked female player in the 2011 graduating class. In 2005, as a sixth-grader, Dakoda was the No. 2 player on the golf team at Northside Christian High and helped the team win its first state title.
Go Dakoda, Go Bolts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Lightning, 42-31-5, have four games remaining in the 2005-06 season, including additional home dates with the Carolina Hurricanes (Saturday, April 15, 7:30 p.m.) and the Washington Capitals (Tuesday, April 18, 7:30 p.m.).

Dakoda Dowd, Ginn Clubs Open Make Their Professional Debuts

2006-04-10T05:43:00.000-07:00

Here's your chance to witness not just the birth of a new golf tournament but also the professional emergence of what just might be the next great female golfer. And pay tribute to someone living with breast cancer at the same time.

The inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open is set to tee off at the Reunion Resort & Club near Orlando. Although top female golfers such as Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer will vie for the trophy, many eyes will be on 12-year-old Dakoda Dowd viewed by many as the next female golfing phenom. Playing in her first professional tournament, Dowd has already won more than 185 junior tournaments.

However, the one victory she'd like to pull off -- rescuing her mother from cancer -- appears unattainable. The cancer has spread to her mother's liver and bones. Seeing her daughter compete in an LPGA event is one of her mother's last wishes -- therefore the LPGA granted an exemption allowing the underage but exceptionally talented younger Dowd to compete. The first Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open is Apr. 27-30 in Reunion, Florida.

Tips On Golf -- And Life -- From A Pro For Dakoda Dowd

2006-04-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

Reunion, Florida -- What a week for Dakoda Dowd! Not only did she turn 13 April 3rd, she received a fancy guitar as a gift, and she's also getting one-on-one time with her role model, Annika Sorenstam.

Dakoda Dowd, 13-year-old golfer:
“I like her poise, so graceful. She has the best attitude, even when it's not a good shot. ”
Annika watched Dakoda hit a few balls, gave her some golf tips, and some advice about life.

Annika Sorenstam, 8-time Player of the Year:“This is a game, really, I take it seriously. My life is surrounded by the game, but at the end of the day, have fun. One golf shot is not going to change your life.”
Dakoda's mother is battling cancer. She's been through several rounds of chemotherapy, and the cancer has spread to her bone and liver. One of her final wishes is to see her daughter play in the LPGA tour.

And with a special exemption, Dakoda will have a chance to play in the Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open April 24th - 30th. Although all of the media attention can be a little overwhelming, Dakoda says having her mom there will make a difference.

Dakoda Dowd, 13-year-old golfer
“I'm going to look at her (on the sidelines) see her smile, and that will take the jitters away.” See Dakoda Dowd In April.

Great Drive, Heartbreaking Motivation For Dakoda Dowd

2006-04-03T04:45:00.000-07:00

If all you knew about Dakoda Dowd was that she's a 12-year-old golf phenomenon with a killer 240-yard drive, that she stalks the green with ice in her veins, or that she's already picked up a slew of trophies in amateur tournaments, you'd think this kid is pretty impressive.

But CBS News correspondent Joie Chen reports that's only half her story.

In less than three weeks, Dakoda will tee off in the Ginn Open, against Annika Sorenstam, Christina Kim and the tour's other top women, thanks to an exemption from the tournament's sponsor.

"It's a very big deal," Dakoda Dowd says. "But the most important thing about it is my mom gets to watch me fulfill my dreams."

Dakoda knows her first shot at the pros may be the last tournament her mother ever sees.

"I'm not going to battle this disease and get rid of it," says Kelly Jo Dowd, Dakoda's mother. "This disease will eventually get me."

Kelly Jo Dowd is dying. She's started her third round of chemo, but the breast cancer has spread — it's now in her liver and bones. The outlook is not good.

"What I'm doing right now is I'm fighting, it's all I can do," Kelly Jo Dowd says. "I'm going to fight as long as I can stay alive, and it's because Dakoda."

One would think the family would want to retreat from the spotlight, but instead, they've chosen to use the attention Dakoda's athletic talent has brought them to get out an important message about early breast cancer detection.

They are also supporting the Making Memories Foundation, a group that helps make wishes of women with cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, come true.

It's not hard to see where Dakoda Dowd gets her willpower and resolve, nor is it hard to see why, though her own body is so fragile, Kelly Jo Dowd wants to be a part of her daughter's wild ride.

They are a team. Kelly Jo Dowd is on board for all of her daughter's practice rounds. Dakoda Dowd has been there for every step of her mother's grueling treatment.

"She's such a strong woman," Dakota says. "I want to follow in her footsteps."

Her mother probably won't live to see Dakoda reach the golfer's dream — earning her tour card and becoming a player on the professional circuit. But, Kelly Jo is certain her daughter has what it takes.

"Dakoda knows that whether I am there or not, I'm always here," Kelly Jo says. "I told her I'd be her angel sitting on her shoulder, and that's what I intend to do."

The final round of their memorable season may play out amid these daunting roughs and treacherous bunkers. But Dakoda Dowd has already taken on a tougher course than most of us will ever see, and she's already proven herself a winner.

Cancer-Stricken Mom To Watch Pre-Teen Prodigy Dakoda Dowd in LPGA Event

2006-03-31T04:21:00.000-08:00

Pre-teen golf prodigy Dakoda Dowd will make her cancer-sticken mother's dream come true April 27 by playing in an LPGA tournament thanks to a sponsor's exemption.
Dakoda Dowd turns 13 on Monday, three days before her mother resumes chemotherapy after beating breast cancer only to have doctors discover the cancer had spread to her hip bone, liver and spine.

Dakoda Dowd helped a Florida high school team claim a state title while six grades below the seniors, but her mother, Kelly Jo Dowd, saw little hope she would live long enough to see her daughter play in an elite tournament.

"I was not going to get to see my daughter play on the LPGA Tour. It was breaking my heart because I knew she had the ability," Kelly Jo Dowd said. "It was one of the hardest things because I knew I wasn't going to see it."

The Dowds story prompted Bobby Ginn, sponsor of next month's Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open, to invite Dakoda Dowd to his new event.

"What he has done for me is irreplacable. He made my dream come true," the elder Dowd said.

"It has been amazing. Fantastic. Sensational. It has been so uplifting. Right now I'm in a very good frame of mind. I'm fighting very hard for this."

While watching her mother's fight for life, Dakoda finds golf's troublesome moments minor by comparison.

"Nothing compares to that," she said. "Part of me is happy because it has made me stronger. When I look into her eyes and think about what she is going through, it gives me a lot of strength."

The chance to play alongside such idols as world number one Annika Sorenstam is less daunting for Dakoda Dowd because of what it will mean for her mother.

"It's going to be rough but it's going to be great," Dakoda Dowd said. "I'm really excited and happy. I'm just going to go out there and have fun and be happy my mom will be watching. That's the most important thing.

"She helps me through a lot of stuff. She keep me positive. She's my rock."

Kelly Jo Dowd, who turned 41 on March 10, was a "Hooters" girl, serving as a calendar and poster model during 14 years where she worked her way from waitress to restaurant general manager.

Then came cancer and chemotherapy, losing hair and many of the trappings of beauty she learned were only secondary.

"It played havoc on my self-esteem. I felt very confident before. I lost all that," she said. "It was a tough time but because of that I became a better person and became more confident."

Kelly Jo Dowd's battle made her want to help other women who face similar challenges in their lives.

"I want to help as many women as possible. I can help people. There are a lot of people out there just like me," she said.

"I felt the lump and didn't check it out immediately. I didn't think it was serious at all. The number one thing I can say to other women is take it seriously. Don't wait. Don't do what I did. Get a mamogram."

Dakoda Dowd has drawn strength from and given strength to her daughter at various times during her combat with cancer.

"Her inner strength is there from everything I've gone through, all the stuff she has had to go through," Kelly Jo Dowd said. "Everybody in the family has been deflated at times, crying at stages.

"We have gotten each other through it. I've looked to her for strength at times. She's an incredible golfer. She had a lot going on and this slaps her in the face.

"There have been times she hasn't felt like playing, like her heart is not into it. She still puts in the time. She has got a will power and a lot of courage to go out there and get it done.

"Dakoda Dowd believes we're go back on the chemo and beat this in another three months."

And if cancer can be conquered, what chance do mere golf rivals stand?

"Just playing on the tour will be a dream come true," Dakoda Dowd said. "I can't say I wouldn't like to win some day."

Dakoda Dowd A Jr. Golf Pro, 12, Fulfils Dying Mom’s Dream

2006-03-31T04:13:00.000-08:00

Dakoda Dowd a 12 year old girl from Florida is to become the world’s second youngest female professional golfer in order to fulfil the dream of her dying mother.

Dakoda Flowie Dowd will make her debut in a tournament near Orlando next month. The Ladies’ Professional Golf Association insists players be at least 18 but an exception is being made because of the “extraordinary emotional circumstances”.

Dakoda’s mother, Kelly Jo Dowd, 40, has cancer and doctors do not expect her to survive for more than a few months. Watching her daughter take part in the tournament is her dearest wish.

Kelly Jo will be allowed to follow her in a customised golf cart. But as she approaches her 13th birthday this week, Dakoda Dowd's fear is that her mother may not be well enough to attend. “My birthday wish is that my mom is here for the tournament and for a long time after that,” she said.

“But there are good days and bad days, for both of us, and we just try to hold it together and concentrate on making her dreams come true.”

Dowd recalled that when she first suffered discomfort, she blamed breast implants and skipped a mammogram.

“That was the worst decision of my life,” she said.

Last month she picked her funeral plot.

“It is a very tough time, but all I can ask is that God steers us through it and, afterwards, my little girl has a strong and happy life.”

Dakoda Dowd Interview With People Magazine

2006-03-29T12:55:00.000-08:00

Dakoda Dowd does interview with People Magazine for March 2006 issue.

"Dakoda Dowd's LPGA Quest"

2006-03-24T04:51:00.000-08:00

Dakoda Dowd sits for a portrait with golf clubs she has engraved with the pink initials of her mother, Kelly Jo, who had to combat breast cancer once before it returning in a more serious form recently, at the Innisbrook Troon Golf Institute in Palm Harbor, Fla., on Saturday, February 4, 2006. At the age of 13, Dowd will be playing on the LPGA Tour at the inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open from April 27-30 at Reunion Resort & Club in Orlando. VIEW IMAGE

Dakoda Dowd's Dream / The Courageous Story Of Dakoda (Koda) Dowd

2006-03-23T03:54:00.000-08:00

WHEN the Academy Awards engage in their annual celebration of filmmaking, they also remind us of how casually we have come to regard the truth. A second thought is rarely given to the work that embellishes reality in the pursuit of art. That's just the way it is done. Two special stories are walking among us right now that will surely end up on the big screen, and as they are translated from reality to film some truth will be lost, and some fiction will be added. That need not be the case. They are stories that stand on their own and simply need to be told.

Last month, a young man with autism named Jason McElwain reduced a nation of cynical sports fans to tears when he played his only high school basketball game and scored 20 points in a magical four-minute sequence. It is hoped that when Jason's life is transferred to film, it is a documentary in which he and those touched by him are allowed to tell their own stories. Nothing more need be said. No footage need be created other than what really happened.

And then there is the case of Dakoda Dowd who next month will make her LPGA debut in the Ginn Clubs & Resort Open on a sponsor's exemption just weeks past her 13th birthday. Too often in sports we hear words like "courage" and "heroic" tossed around carelessly, as if a golf shot could have an impact beyond the game.

Truly, our greatest opportunities to be courageous occur in our own lives, exactly where it matters most. Koda will be playing for her mother, Kelly Jo, whose body is ravaged by the pain of breast cancer that has spread from her breasts to her liver and bones. Kelly Jo's dream is to see Dakoda play in an LPGA event, and that dream now is set against a clock seemingly beyond human control.

"It is the right thing to do," Bobby Ginn, president and CEO of Ginn Clubs & Resorts, told Golf World about the exemption he granted to Dakoda. "Our company is about family, and we got involved in golf because it is a family sport. To give Dakoda a chance to present this gift to her mother makes our sponsorship of the event already a success." While it is unlikely anyone would oppose the exemption given to Dakoda, Ginn has added an extra spot to the field of the April 27-30 event so no LPGA player is bumped by her presence.

The plot line of this story is simple. At the age of 4, Dakoda was introduced to golf by her father, Mike. Shortly after Dakoda's ninth birthday, Kelly Jo had a double mastectomy. There was every reason to think the cancer was cured. Then last May something didn't feel right. After many tests it was determined the cancer had returned -- and spread. Left untreated, Kelly Jo would have less than a year to live. But Kelly Jo fights on, through radiation and chemotherapy, taking medication to ease one of the most painful of all cancers, and keeping an eye trained on the calendar and the day when she will see Dakoda tee it up against the pros.

If this is a race against time, it is also a reminder that time is constantly slipping through our fingers and that life should be lived with a passion and purpose that celebrates the gift it is. Courageous acts are rarely decisions, but rather reactions to events beyond our control, the hand dealt to us by life. Next month, Kelly Jo and Dakoda will share a private act of love on a public stage. We are fortunate we get to watch. And no shred of truth need be embellished to make this an award-winning story.

Winslow Earns Sponsor's Exemption Along With Dakoda (Koda) Dowd To Inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open

2006-03-15T04:56:00.000-08:00

Andia Winslow, the first African-American to compete in the Ivy League and for Yale University, and the first African-American to compete on the LPGA in four years, has accepted a sponsor's exemption along with Dakoda Dowd to the inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open at the Reunion Resort & Club, April 24-30.

Winslow will compete against the prominent 144-player field including Dakoda Dowd, which is also expected to include No.1-ranked LPGA player Annika Sorenstam. The field will be squaring off for one of the richest purses in the history of the LPGA at $2.5 million.

Winslow is the first African-American since LaRee Pearl Sugg in 2001 to compete on the LPGA. The Orlando-area resident is honored to have the chance to play in this prestigious event. Winslow was also the first scholarship recipient for a partial scholarship at Yale University from the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

"I'm delighted and pleased about the chance to play against Dakoda Dowd in the Ginn Open," Winslow said. "The city of Orlando is embracing the event, I am working hard on my game and I'm excited about the whole experience."

"Andia is a wonderful addition to the premier field we have at the Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open," said Bobby Ginn, president and CEO of Ginn Clubs & Resorts. "She is a trailblazer being the first African-American to play at Yale, and shows great determination as she perseveres to be on the LPGA some day. We look forward to watching the Orlando-based players please the hometown crowd along with dakoda Dowd."

Winslow of Winter Garden, Fla., is the first African-American to play varsity golf for Yale University (2000-03). A native of Seattle, Wash., she is a freelance writer and a documentary filmmaker. Her uncle is Pro Football Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow. She was the 1999 National Minority Junior Golfer of the Year, and she is the first ever African-American, man or woman, to compete in the Ivy League.

Winslow, who is currently playing amateur tournaments like Dakoda Dowd with hopes of eventually qualifying for the LPGA, won the Golfweek Orlando City Championship in 2005. She currently works at the Walt Disney World Golf Resort and previously was the part of the golf operations staff at the Yale University Golf Course in 2004.

Dakoda Dowd Ties For 2nd In Future Collegians World Tour Event.

2006-03-13T04:28:00.000-08:00

JUNIORS: Many of the top Pinellas girls traveled to Tallahassee last weekend to play in the Florida Junior Tour's match at FSU's home course, Southwood Golf Club.

The results were favorable where Whitney Wenglasz, 15, Oldsmar, and Andrea Messer, 15, Belleair, found themselves in a tie after 36 holes with 153. They were playing in the 16-18 age division among 18 girls.

Wenglasz, a member of the 2004 state championship Class A team for Northside Christian, won on the third playoff hole with a par.

Evan Jensen, 16, of Belleair, who plays for Largo High, finished third, followed by Brienna Heinzler of Palm Harbor, tied for seventh.

Matt Cooney of Tampa overcame a five-stroke deficit after round one to shoot a final-round 6-under 66 to win the boys 16-18 title with 139.

At Plantation Inn in Crystal Springs, Dakoda Dowd of Palm Harbor shot 75-78-153 to tie for second behind So-Hyun Park (151) in the girls 13-18 division of the Future Collegians World Tour event.

KODA DOWD PRE-TEEN LANDS A SPOT

2006-03-09T04:47:00.000-08:00

Dakoda Koda Dowd, a 12-year-old amateur, has received a sponsor's exemption into the inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open, tournament officials have announced. The new event is set for Apr. 27-30 at the Reunion Resort & Club near Orlando.

Dakoda Koda Dowd, from Palm Harbor, Fla., will be playing her first professional tournament. In her amateur career, she has won more than 185 junior tournaments and is the nation's top-ranked female player in the 2011 graduating class. In 2005, as a sixth-grader, she was the No. 2 player on the golf team at Northside Christian High and helped the team win its first state title.

Koda's mother, Kelly Jo Dowd, learned earlier this year that the breast cancer she beat three years ago has returned, invading more of her body and leaving her terminally ill. The disease has spread to bone and liver cancer. The chance for Dakoda to play in an LPGA event is one of her mother's final wishes.

Dakoda (Koda) Dowd Takes Third In Future Collegians World Tour Event

2006-03-07T04:43:00.000-08:00

JUNIORS: Dunedin's Preston Knox tied for seventh at a recent Future Collegians World Tour event at Innisbrook's Highlands North course. He shot a final-round par 71 to go with opening rounds of 78 and 80.

P.J. Kolosvary of Safety Harbor was three back.

In the girls 13-18 division, Palm Harbor's Dakoda Dowd finished strong (86-79-76-241) to take third behind Kristina Wong (218) and Meghna Dal (240).

Justine Knox of Dunedin finished fifth at 247.

Dakoda (Koda) Dowd Florida girl, 12, Given Spot To Play In LPGA Tourney

2006-03-06T04:18:00.000-08:00

A 12-year-old Florida girl received a sponsors exemption to play in an LPGA Tour event in Orlando and fulfill the wish of her mother, who is being treated for cancer.

Dakoda Koda Dowd will play the final four days of April in the inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open in Orlando, organizers of the golf tournament said.

Her mother, Kelly Jo Dowd, is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer that has spread to her bones and liver. One of her final wishes is to watch Dakoda play in an LPGA event, organizers said.

“With this opportunity, she may finally have a chance to see this dream come true,” Dakoda Dowd said in a news release.

Dowd, who lives in Palm Harbor, Fla., has won 185 junior tournaments. As a sixth-grader last year, she helped the golf team at Northside Christian High win its first state title.

12-year-old girl Dakoda (Koda) Dowd to play on LPGA

2006-03-04T05:02:00.000-08:00

Dakoda (Koda) Dowd, a 12-year-old Florida girl, received an exemption to play in an LPGA Tour event next month and will fulfill the wish of her mother, who has cancer.

Dakoda Dowd will play in the inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open in Orlando on April 24-30, organizers of the tournament said in a news release.

Her mother, Kelly Jo Dowd, is having chemotherapy for breast cancer that has spread to her bones and liver. One of the mother's wishes is to watch Dakoda play in an LPGA event, organizers said.

"My mom has always dreamed of seeing me play with the really great golfers like Annika Sorenstam and Cristie Kerr," Dowd said in the release. "With this opportunity, she may finally have a chance to see this dream come true."

Dowd lives in the Tampa suburb of Palm Harbor and has won 185 junior events.

For Now, a Young Golfer Dakoda (Koda) Dowd Keeps Driving

2006-03-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

The driving-range stalls were nearly empty as 12-year-old Dakoda Dowd honed her golf swing in the morning half-light of this beach town outside Tampa.

"Somewhere, someone is practicing," one of her coaches, Lew Smither III, told her.

"And when you meet them, they will beat you," Dakoda said, finishing a sentence she has heard before.

It was Smither's reminder that ambition has a price, that the endless flop shots and 3-wood darts Dakoda (Koda) has hit were a down payment on the nearly 200 trophies she has won.

But time spent on the driving range is complicated these days.

Dakoda's mother, Kelly Jo Dowd, has bone cancer. She sleeps in most mornings, wears out in the afternoon and takes Vicodin for her aching joints. "I want to live as long as I can," Kelly Jo said in a recent interview, "but I also know that I have Stage 4 bone cancer."

This is Dakoda Dowd's reality. She possesses a golf swing that looks like a tour professional's. She has more than 100 contacts on her cellphone, many of them friends, mall hoppers and moviegoers like her. She has a mother who believed she had beaten cancer, only to have it return.

"It was kind of weird that it came back," Dakoda said softly during a break from practice.

Dakoda said she would drop golf immediately if it meant good health for her mother, who is 40, but that was not the doctors' diagnosis. A scan last May revealed that Kelly Jo had cancer in her bones and liver. They gave her six months to a year to live unless she immediately started treatment.

Kelly Jo embarked on radiation and chemotherapy, and when tournament organizers from the Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open — an event on the L.P.G.A. Tour — heard about the family's situation, they gave Dakoda a sponsor's exemption to play in their event April 27-30 in Orlando, Fla.

Dakoda (Koda) learned to play golf from her father, Mike Dowd, when she was 4 and, according to Smither, she is in the top 1 percent to 5 percent of all 12-year-olds. But one month after Dakoda's 9th birthday, with golf trophies piling up on the shelves, Kelly Jo received a diagnosis of breast cancer and had a double mastectomy.

Dakoda, a daddy's girl for most of her young life, began a home-school curriculum so she could be closer to her mother, and to the driving range several hundred yards from their apartment here.

Kelly Jo, believing she was cancer-free, began working out with Dakoda in a gymnasium. When Kelly Jo developed pain in her left hip, she thought it was from exercise.

"I went to my plastic surgeon, and they gave me some anti-inflammatories and said maybe the implants were causing pain in that area," Kelly Jo said. "It didn't get any better. I had gone to my general practitioner to do some X-rays, and they didn't find anything. It was like a guessing game. Nobody, including myself, had the intelligence to say, 'You just had breast cancer and this could be something more serious.' No one caught it."

It wasn't until May 26 of last year that her oncologist found that cancer had returned and spread.

"I had fought so hard the first time, not realizing that I should have saved some of that energy for the second time, that I had no more to give," said Kelly Jo, who has left her job as the general manager of a local Hooters, the company where she started as a waitress. "In my mind, I fought it, I battled it, it was gone. I had no idea that it might not exactly be true."

Mike Dowd, 45, said of his wife of 18 years: "She has been a working woman her whole life. She could have married way above me in looks and status, but she married a poor social worker. We're devastated by this, but we're strong people."

Dakoda (Koda) has spent nearly a quarter of her life seeing her mother go in and out of the hospital, watching her ache and moan, observing the growth and loss of Kelly Jo's blond hair. At the family's apartment, Dakoda is often at her mother's side, propping up her pillow or bringing her a glass of water.

Dakoda, like her mother, believed they were past cancer. And then, out of nowhere, they weren't. "I just couldn't believe it," Dakoda said. "She did everything she could and beyond."

On the golf course, Dakoda keeps Kelly Jo close the best way she can. Her clubs are adorned with the initials "KJ" in pink. Her golf bag is stocked with pink and purple lipstick.

Dakoda (Koda) Dowd Receives Sponsor's Exemption to Inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open

2006-03-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

Twelve-year-old Dakoda (Koda) Dowd has received a sponsor's exemption to the inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open at Reunion Resort & Club, April 24-30. The youngster from Palm Harbor, Fla., will be playing her first professional tournament against the esteemed 144-player field, which is expected to include No.1-ranked LPGA player Annika Sorenstam.

Already at such a young age, Koda Dowd is an accomplished player, winning over 185 junior tournaments and is the nation's top-ranked female player in the 2011 graduating class. In 2005, as a sixth-grader, she was the No. 2 player on the golf team at Northside Christian High and helped the team win its first state title.

However, her upcoming success has come at a time when she is facing a heartbreaking and difficult family situation. Dowd's mother, Kelly Jo, learned earlier this year that the breast cancer she beat three years ago has returned, invading more of her body and leaving her terminally ill. The disease has spread to bone and liver cancer. The chance for Dakoda (Koda) to play in an LPGA event is one of her mother's final wishes.

"This is so exciting for me and my family. My dad and I hope that my mom will be here to see me play in April at this event on the LPGA tour," said Dowd. "Since I was a kid, my mom has always dreamed of seeing me play with the really great golfers like Annika Sorenstam and Cristie Kerr. With this opportunity, she may finally have a chance to see this dream come true."

Tickets will be priced at $10 for each of the practice rounds and pro-am days and $30 for general admission for each of the four rounds. Parking is complimentary and included with each ticket. Weekly badges are available for $80 which allows guests access to all of the tournament events as well as the two evenings of music on Friday and Saturday night with concerts by the Pointer Sisters and Brooks & Dunn, to name a few. Practice rounds will be held on Monday, April 24 and Tuesday, April 25. The Pro-Am will be held on Wednesday, April 26 and the 72-hole competition will begin Thursday, April 27 and run through April 30.

The inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open will be played at Reunion Resort & Club on a composite layout of two of the resort's courses, the Legacy Course designed by Arnold Palmer and the Independence Course by Tom Watson. CBS Sports and The Golf Channel will televise the event nationally.

Dakoda (Koda) Dowd Launches New Website

2006-02-27T08:03:00.000-08:00

Dakoda (Koda) Dowd has launched her official website at www.kodadowd.com Stay tuned for updates and information on Dakoda's accomplishments and career. There is a page with contact information for Dakoda (Koda) Dowd, and a Q&A section set up.

If you have not heard the story of Dakoda Dowd, you will when she makes her way to the first tee box at The Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open in Orlando. Dakoda Dowd was given a sponsors exemption due to her being one of the best Jr. Amateur golfers in Florida.

Don't forget to cheer her on in April, and make sure to stop by and visit her website. Dakoda Dowd is on her way to becoming one of the best that the game has ever seen.

Things Looking Bleak For Wie To Play With Dakoda (Koda) Dowd

2006-02-05T05:44:00.000-08:00

The SBS Open wants Hawaii's prodigal daughter to return. But Michelle Wie's schedule and LPGA policy are at odds as the tour's season-opening event in her hometown of Honolulu approaches.
Tournament officials, Wie's agent and father B.J. Wie have lobbied the LPGA and Commissioner Carolyn Bivens about allowing Wie a special tour exemption.

She thus could play both season-opening Hawaii events without having one count toward her six exemptions. Nor would she be forced to scratch a marquee tournament from her summer schedule when she's on break from high school.

"There's a lot of people involved in trying to assist her. She's a big part of Hawaii's sports fabric, and she'd have a large impact for us," said SBS Open tournament director Ray Stosik.

"It would be a win-win situation," said Wie's father, "for SBS, local charities, the LPGA, The Golf Channel, Michelle, everybody."

Wie has accepted a spot in the inaugural Fields Open, Feb. 23-25, passing on the Feb. 16-18 SBS Open, where she tied for second last year. LPGA policy allows for a maximum six exemptions a year for non-members. According to spokesman Paul Rovnak, the LPGA has spoken with the Wies and others and clarified its exemption policy to them.

The LPGA recently extended a special exemption for Dakoda Dowd to play the Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open, April 27-30 in Orlando. The field was increased by one to 145 players to include Dowd, a 12-year-old from Palm Harbor, Fla., whose mother is battling breast cancer and hopes to live long enough to see her daughter play an LPGA event.

"If we didn't at least ask, we wouldn't be doing our job," said Wie's agent, Ross Berlin.

Wie can use her six exemptions any way she chooses. She decided to miss the SBS Open in favor of the Fields Open at Ko Olina Golf Club, where she mostly plays and practices.

"Not supporting the new tournament would have been awkward for us," B.J. Wie said.

Tuesday is the deadline for entry into the SBS Open, said Stosik, who didn't sound hopeful.

"We're holding out for something good to happen," he said. "People in the state don't know how many more times they'll get to see her in person. As her career grows, she's likely to leave Hawaii."

Indeed, the Wies have bought a house at Big Horn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif., site of the Samsung World Championship, where Wie made her pro debut last year.

Dakoda (Koda) Dowd Scores Win In Girls Division CJGA Event

2006-01-25T04:22:00.000-08:00

Dakoda Dowd wins girl division of the January 6th event. She once again tore up the competition. Check out the pictures here.

St. Petersburg's Root Records His Biggest Victory / Clearwater's Dakoda (Koda) Dowd Had The Day's Best Score (77)

2006-01-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

Doug Root , a member at host St.Petersburg Country Club, demonstrated that in the 79th annual New Year's Invitational.

His opening rounds of 73, 73 and 73 - 1-over par each day - gave him an insecure three-stroke lead entering the final round of the Senior Division (players 55-and-over).

His closest competitors were among the best in the state - Mike Walters and Don Lucas , both of Tampa. In the third round, they had reduced Root's lead by shooting 71 and 72, respectively.

Then Root departed from consistent rounds and crafted a 3-under 69 to capture the championship trophy by six strokes over Lucas, whose final round was 72.

"I drove well all week, especially the final day when I hit 12 of 14 fairways off the tee," Root said. "Also, I had only 29 putts in that final round, which is better than average for me there on my home course.

"But in a larger sense, I've been preparing for the past year and a half for my entry into the Senior Division and going to the gym regularly to get in shape," he said. "Fitness is a big part of this game that's often overlooked."

In recent years, Root has lowered his handicap to 1.

After an eagle chip-in from 30 feet on the 465-par 5 16th hole, his sixth, Root might have thought he had a safe cushion.

But Walters proceeded to sink a 20-foot putt for an eagle to stay in contention, and Lucas birdied to keep the match interesting. Kent Whittemore was the fourth player in the final foursome, and he was in contention.

Root didn't make a bogey in the final round until No.1, his group's 10th hole, where he missed a five-foot putt.

The turning point was their 14th hole, the 328-yard par-4 fifth. Root sliced his tee shot under a tree with two trees in front of his approach shot to the green.

"I hit a low 5-iron between the trees that went 100 yards to the green, enabling me to two-putt and save par," Root said.

"That was huge. ... That and not making many big mistakes all week. That helped me win my biggest tournament ever, with its strong field and history."

NOTES: Root won the St.Petersburg City Championship in 1994, '96 and '97.

In October, he returned to Mangrove Bay and captured the Senior Division two weeks after turning 55.

Whittemore, another City Championship winner, tied for third in the New Year's Invitational with a 72-hole 300, as did Jim Holbrook .

In the Open Division of the South's oldest men's amateur, the University of Indiana's Jeff Overton came from behind with a final-round 67 to overtake third-round leader Adam Scrimenti of Sarasota by a stroke.

The Florida Gators' Dalton Melnyk finished third (278) and was followed by a tie for fourth between Jeremy Hobson (282) and 2003 winner John Holmes of the University of Kentucky.

PRO NEWS: Seminole's Brittany Lincicome , 19, has been invited to play in the Jan.29 Tim Wakefield Charity Classic in Melbourne.

Wakefield, a Boston Red Sox pitcher, and teammate Johnny Damon will tee it up in the fund-raiser. Lincicome makes her 2005 LPGA Tour debut in Hawaii next month.

WEST COAST WOMEN: Pinellas golfers won three of five flights in the association's first match of the year.

At Belleair Country Club, Cathy Moss of the Vinoy took the title in Flight A with an 81, Sue Rooney of Innisbrook won Flight B (83), and Ann Stafford of Crescent Oaks and Cindy Kahle tied in C (86).

Walden Lake's Jackie Currier had the day's best round (78), winning Flight AA.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP: Jim Ahern successfully defended his title at Tarpon Woods last week in the 36-hole final, 5 & 4 over Ken Fawcett .

Head pro Greg McClimans will play assistant Greg Hiland for the pro title.

LARGO GOLF COURSE: In the biweekly scramble, 13-under 49 won for the team of Grey Farrey of Seminole, Mike Kuykandahl of Clearwater and Largo's Homer Holmes and Rich Creech .

JUNIORS: Clearwater's Courtney Harter , 15, won the girls 13-18 division of the Future Collegians World Tour event at the University of Florida course in Gainesville.

A sophomore at Palm Harbor University High, Harter posted 73-74-73 for a 10-over 220 to win by three strokes.

She followed that with a tie for eighth in a FCWT event at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra. In the boys 13-15 class there, Dunedin's Preston Knox tied for sixth with 72-75-147.

Clearwater's Dakoda Dowd had the day's best score (77) in the final round of a recent Canadian World Tour event on Innisbrook's Copperhead course.

The Northside Christian player finished one stroke out of first.

Dowd's Mustang teammates, Danielle and Mo Jackson , key members of last fall's state Class A titleists, are focusing on basketball this winter.

Dunedin's Dana Turker won the girls 15-19 division of the Plantations Junior Tour at Innisbrook earlier this month. Her scores were 87-83-170.

FLORIDA STATE GOLF ASSOCIATION: The state Two-Man Shootout Championship is scheduled for May 14-15 at Westin Innisbrook Resort. Entries close April 20.

Innisbrook will host on May 11 a U.S. Open qualifier, which will enable the top finishers to move on to a sectional at Old Memorial in Tampa on June 7.

Dunedin Country Club will have a U.S. Mid-Amateur (25-plus) qualifier Aug.15. Entries close July 13.

Largo High Star Rolls To Junior Tourney Win

2006-01-01T07:50:00.000-08:00

A young golfer from Belleair, Andrea Messer , overwhelmed the field at last week's Innisbrook Christmas Junior Classic.

Messer, 14, captured the girls 14-18 division of the 54-hole tournament by 10 strokes. Playing the famous Copperhead course, she put together rounds of 1-over 72, 80 and 73 for a 225.

The field included a couple of nationally ranked juniors from the state, including runnerup Jessica Yadloczky (36th) of Casselberry and defending champion Dolores White (43rd) of Lakeland, who finished fourth with rounds of 80-78-80-238. Messer's high school teammate and practice partner, Evan Jensen , took third with rounds of 76-82-78-236.

Messer said the key to her win was driving accurately and hitting irons onto the undulating greens.

"That first round of 72 did a lot for my confidence," said Messer, a homeschooled ninth-grader who played on the boys team with Jensen at Largo High. "I didn't get nervous knowing I was in the lead. I didn't feel any pressure." Messer, a Times all-county second-teamer this past season, and the other players ran into cold and windy weather on the second day. But even with the 80, which included a quadruple bogey, Messer increased her lead from four strokes to six. "I really wanted to shoot well that last day to prove I was better than an 80," Messer said. "I went for the pin on Monday (the final day) and was able to make three birdies. But I'm going to have to work more on my long putts. I missed a couple of them badly, which led to three-putts."

Messer has elevated her game during the past four years while working with Jim Slattery , the head pro at Belleair Country Club. The emphasis of his instruction has been on her swing.

Largo High coach Bill Schroeder , who attended two of the three rounds, said Messer takes the game seriously and is intent on doing well.

"Both Andrea and Evan are very businesslike in their approach to the game," said Schroeder, who has been coaching for 36 years. "They don't like to make mistakes. Another thing that helped Andrea is her fondness for the Copperhead course.

"That positive attitude helped her throughout. That and the fact that playing on the high school boys team, where she was the No.2 scorer, was also beneficial." Messer said she plans to continue practicing almost every day at her club, Belleview Biltmore, with her new Cleveland clubs with a goal of having a better year in 2005.

"I hope to qualify for the state tournament next year and make the Times all-county first team," Messer said.

"I'm having a lot of fun with the game. I'm glad my dad (Dennis) got me into it."

Clearwater's Dakoda Dowd , a member of Northside Christian's state championship team and a Times all-county first-teamer this past fall, tied for second (79-77-156) in the girls 13-18 division, ahead of Seminole's Rachel Edwards , a second-teamer for the Warhawks, (78-74-162) and Dunedin's Justine Knox (87-79-166).

David Palm of Jacksonville won the boys 14-18 division by six strokes over Cameron Knight of Dade City. Palm sandwiched a 2-under 69 between rounds of 73 and 74.

Linzy Clark III of Tarpon Springs also won at the Junior Classic. He shot a first-round 76 to take a three-stroke lead then held on despite shooting 81 in Sunday's bad conditions.

MORE JUNIORS: Dunedin's Preston Knox tied for second at the Florida State Golf Association's Christmas Classic at the Plantation Inn in Crystal River, posting rounds of 76-75-151.
He finished two ahead of Clearwater's P.J. Kolosvary , the Times 2004 county player of the year. Knox earned 120 points for the season to win the 12-14 age division.

Golfing For Their Mothers' Cause

2005-12-24T07:11:00.000-08:00

Dakoda Dowd and Madison Pressel are two of America's top young women golfers hope to make a living playing the game they love.

Their fathers watch every stroke.

Their mothers are their inspiration.

Dakoda Dowd, Golfer:
"She's very aggressive, just like me, and she's very strong. A lot of women are."

Madison Pressel, Golfer:
"She never gave up and I think I got that quality from her. She never complained."

Fourteen-year-old Madison Pressel's mother, Kathy Krickstien Pressel, was once a tennis pro in Tampa.

Madison Pressel, Golfer:
"She's very pretty, gorgeous person."

Kathy died two years ago of breast cancer.

Madison Pressel, Golfer:
"I think about her a lot, because I always wish that she could be there."

And at this youth tournament, Madison can act as mentor, friend, even big sister to 12-year-old Dakoda Dowd, whose mother is fighting advanced breast cancer.

Madison Pressel, Golfer:
"You never really know what is going to happen so you have to expect the unexpected. Like my mom, got rid of it and it came back."

Dakoda Dowd, Golfer:
"There's a bunch of women that are going through it, so it's just, support it the best we can, prevent it."

The girls carry reminders of their mothers and their cause on their visors as they play.

They think of them with every shot.

Dakoda Dowd, Golfer:
"She's a big inspiration, I'm happy to have her around with me."

Madison Pressel, Golfer:
"I just wish she was here, and that kind of gives me strength because I play for her."

If Madison and Dakoda make their living as golf pros in the future, their fathers will be proud.

Their mothers will fuel their competitive spirits.

Largo Man: I'm Not Trying To Shake Down A 12-Year-Old Girl

2005-12-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

You may not have heard of Dakoda Dowd yet, but you will soon -- when she makes her professional golfing debut in April at only 12 years old. Through a special exemption, she'll play in her first LPGA tournament in order to fulfill her dying mother's last wish.

"I've been diagnosed with breast cancer, which has now spread to bone cancer and liver cancer. But my main goal is to spend every day together and let it be as positive as possible," Kelly Jo Dowd explained.

With the help of the Ginn Company, the organization that's sponsoring Dakoda in the tournament, the family wanted to set up a website to help fund breast cancer research in Kelly Jo's honor.

But to their surprise, the domain name DakodaDowd.com was already purchased by a Largo man named Shawn Jackman, who told Action News on Wednesday that he wanted it to be a gift to boost the young golfer's spirits.

"My father is dying of pancreatic cancer, and when I read the first article about Dakoda, it touched my heart. I guess the purchase of the URL was more of an emotional purchase; definitely not a business purchase," he said.

But so far, Jackman has yet to give the website back to the family. The reason? Jackman says when the story was first reported, his name was dragged through the mud in newspaper columns and articles.

Now, in order for the family to get the website back, Jackman is demanding an apology from the Orlando Sentinel.

"My intentions were to give it to Dakoda from the beginning. They haven't changed," he said, insisting that he was not holding the domain name as ransom. "Unfortunately, the Ginn Company got involved with exemptions and media got involved. And two writers who had no contact with me decided to write stories. What I guess I'm doing is I'm holding the media responsible for their actions."

Jackman's unofficial site uses Dakoda's name and picture. But Dakoda's father Mike told Action News that Jackman doesn't have the right to use his daughter's name, and he had a message for him.

"[He should] relinquish the name with no parameters, no considerations," Mike Dowd said. "Just say, 'You know what, this is her name and she can do what she wants with it. I made a mistake and I'll be man enough to admit it.' That's what I have."

Jackman purchased DakodaDowd.com for $35. At one point, he said he would sell it to the Ginn Company for $5,000, but now Jackman says he'll give it the family for free if he gets his apology.

The family, meanwhile, is weighing legal action against Jackman.

Shawn Jackman complained about two Orlando Sentinel articles, including a column by David Whitley that compared Jackman to Ebenezer Scrooge.

"People have been speculatively grabbing domain names for years. It's one thing to grab Beer.com to get a big check from Anheuser-Busch. It's another to register DakodaDowd.com in hopes of shaking down a 12-year-old whose mother is dying of cancer."

-David Whitley, 12/15/05

Golfing Phenom's Name Hijacked In Cyberspace

2005-12-22T06:47:00.000-08:00

Tuesday's junior golf tournament in Palm Harbor was good practice for 12-year-old Dakoda Dowd, who's just a few months away from her professional golfing debut. Dakoda was granted special permission to play with the pros in April in order to fulfill her mother's dying wish.

"I've been diagnosed with breast cancer, which has spread to bone cancer and liver cancer. But my main goal is to spend every day together and let it be as positive as possible," explained Dakoda's mother, Kelly Jo Dowd.

With Dakoda's rising fame, the family was hoping to set up a website at DakodaDowd.com to collect money for cancer research in Kelly Jo's name. But when they went create the website, they found the domain name had already been taken by an unofficial website using Dakoda's picture and name.

Someone named Shawn Jackman bought DakodaDowd.com after learning about her story in October. The Dowds say they don't know Jackman and he has no relation to the family.

According to the Dowds, Jackman originally agreed to give the name up when Dakoda's father first contacted him. But now they say he won't give it up unless they pay $5,000.

"It ended abruptly with the sound of the phone hanging up on his end. He told me basically, 'Let's start the bidding at $5,000 and see where we go,' " recalled Ryan Julison of Ginn Co., Dakoda's corporate sponsor.

No one answered when Action News went looking for Jackman at his Largo home, and several phone calls to him were not returned.

"It's a little bizarre, I don't know what his plans are. He said he wanted to give the site as a gift to Dakoda, but never made any contact with the family. Then when I asked him, 'Here's your opportunity to give the gift,' he declined," Julison continued.

The family says the last time anyone heard from Jackman was last Thursday, when he told them the going rate for the domain name was $5,000. Now, the Dowds are hoping he'll reconsider so they can put the whole thing behind them and focus on Dakoda's golf career and Kelly Jo's treatment.

"This man's done something wrong. And unfortunately, it frightens me, as a mom, to know that he's been able to take my daughter's name and to take her face and develop a website from it," Kelly Jo added.

In the meantime, Ginn Co. has secured all other possible domain names for the 12-year-old. They are also looking into possible legal action against Jackman.

Top LPGA Golfer, Cristie Kerr Raises $100K For Breast Cancer At Charity Golf Classic

2005-12-22T04:57:00.000-08:00

record-breaking $100,000 was raised at this year's UpLink Birdies for Breast Cancer Charity Golf Classic, hosted by Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) star Cristie Kerr. This annual event took place on December 3, 2005 at the Reunion Resort & Club outside of Orlando, Florida. Kerr's charity foundation, Birdies for Breast Cancer, is proud to distribute the proceeds to the Florida Hospital Cancer Institute, newly dedicated Kathryn Krickstein Pressel Memorial Fund of the Florida Hospital Cancer Institute and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Other events that took place surrounding the fundraiser included Cristie Kerr and fellow LPGA player Brittany Lincicome signing pink hats at the Tampa Bay Lightning game on Friday, December 2nd to raise money for the Moffitt Breast Cancer Fund. Star amateur golfer who recently turned pro, Morgan Pressel, received the annual Birdies for Breast Cancer CoURagE Award and the Florida Hospital Cancer Institute dedicated the Kathryn Krickstein Pressel Memorial Fund to celebrate the life and memory of Morgan's mother who died of breast cancer. Twelve-year old junior golfer Dakoda Dowd was named the junior spokesperson for Birdies for Breast Cancer by Kerr. Dakoda's mother, Kelly Jo Dowd has been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.

"This year's event was a huge success on many different levels. We put forth a lot of energy to raise money toward breast cancer research programs," said Cristie Kerr, host of the UpLink Birdies for Breast Cancer Charity Golf Classic and founder of the Birdies for Breast Cancer program. "I am confident that our continual efforts along with our wonderful corporate sponsors can make an overall impact to be one step closer to a cure for breast cancer."

Kerr along with Birdies for Breast Cancer was joined by Title sponsor UpLink Corporation and Presenting sponsor Allen Partners. "As a Cancer Survivor myself, I have tremendous respect for anyone who has a commitment for this cause," said Glenn Pierce, President and CEO of UpLink Corporation. "Cristie Kerr is a perfectionist in her personal and professional life. It was a very easy and exciting decision for UpLink Corporation to be part of this world-class event and have the privilege to be involved with Cristie. We have already decided to be the title sponsor for next year."

Other participating sponsors included American Airlines, Anheuser-Busch, Audemars Piguet, Aviator Sports, Chrysler-Jeep, Coca-Cola, Energy Capital Partners, Lacoste, Panera Bread, Waugh Cellars and XL Generation.

The UpLink Birdies for Breast Cancer Charity Golf Classic had 200 guests, including LPGA players as well as other professional athletes and known celebrities. Guests included LPGA golfers Brittany Lincicome, Michelle McGann, Leta Lindley, Kim Williams, Patricia Meunier-Lebouc, Patricia Baxter-Johnson, Karen Stupples and Jan Stephenson; golfers from the Big Break series on The Golf Channel Thomas Blankvoort and Don Donatello, NHL player Vincent Lecavalier, former NHL player Brian Mullen, former NFL player Wesley Walker, actor Michael O'Keefe (Caddyshack's Danny), and golf trick shot artist Buddy Shelton.

Cybersquatter Halts Charity Efforts Of Teen Golfer

2005-12-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

You may never see a prettier golf swing from a 12-year-old.

As Dakoda Dowd competes in youth golf tournaments her mother Kelly Jo, who has breast cancer, is never far from her mind.

Dakoda Dowd, Golfer:
"My Mom and my family are ten times more important than golf."

Kelly Jo Dowd, Dakoda’s Mother:
"She's keeping me alive. She's giving me strength. She's giving me hope."

Dakoda's been given a sponsor's exemption to compete in a women's pro tournament next year in Orlando, so her mother could see her play with some of the world's top golfers.

Tournament organizers encouraged the Dowds to tell their story through the website, "DakodaDowd.com."

But they found the site taken by local businessman Shawn Jackman, who reportedly told the Dowds they could have it for $5,000.

Dakoda's family says she is the victim of cybersquatting -- that's sitting on the domain name on the internet of a business or person before it becomes famous.

Mike Dowd, Dakoda’s Father:
"He needs a lot of prayer, he's got something hurting in his life, I feel sorry for him. So we're just going to focus on the positives that are happening."

Jackman did not return our phone calls.
But his actions don't seem to bother Dakoda.

Dakoda Dowd, Golfer:
"I don't really want my own website, so I don't care. I don't think I deserve my own website."

Someday, Dakoda Dowd's golf game may rate her a website.

Her family is considering another domain name, so she can raise cancer awareness, through the game she loves.

Dowd Family Wants To Raise Funds; Man Wants Money For Domain Name

2005-12-19T06:25:00.000-08:00

A Largo businessman is seeking payment for the rights to a domain name the family of Palm Harbor golf prodigy Dakoda Dowd had hoped to use for breast cancer research.

Shawn Jackman acquired the rights to DakodaDowd.com several weeks ago and was asking for $5,000 to relinquish it, according to Mike Dowd, Dakoda's father, and Ryan Julison, an executive with the Ginn Co. in Orlando that has granted the 12-year-old a sponsor exemption to an LPGA Tour event in April.

Jackman did not return several phone calls and an e-mail requesting comment over the weekend.

Dakoda's mother, Kelly Jo, is battling breast cancer. When real estate developer Bobby Ginn heard about it, he wanted to help by inviting Dakoda to play in the inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open at Reunion Golf Club near Orlando. She was offered one of two sponsor exemptions, along with Michelle Wie. The tournament hopes Kelly Jo can realize her dream of watching Dakoda play with professionals.

Recently, the Ginn Co. sought to set up a Web site for Dakoda so people could donate to cancer research, while also sending cards and well wishes to the family.

Problem was, DakodaDowd.com had been registered by Jackman, who on Thursday, according to Julison, asked for $5,000 to return the domain name.

This came on the same day that, according to Mike Dowd, Jackman had agreed to return the domain name for free. Such domain names can typically be purchased for less than $50.

"I just think it's sad," said Julison, senior vice president of corporate communications for the Ginn Co. "From our perspective, all we want to do is help further the cause that Mike and Kelly Jo and Dakoda are putting forth: hopefully raise some money, give people an opportunity to send good wishes and letters. There are lots of (Web) addresses out there. That's not an issue. The thing is it's a little girl's name. She is living through a tragedy."

Julison said the company initially offered $1,000 for the name. Jackman, Julison said, declined, saying in an e-mail he did not like the fact the bid was made anonymously. He did offer to "set up a meeting to discuss the grayareas," according to the e-mail he sent Julison.

Jackman told Julison he secured the name to aid the family. He wanted to help them design a Web site. But while he has had the rights to the site for several weeks, Jackman never contacted the Dowds until Mike Dowd tried last week to reach him.

"When he made contact with me, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt," Dowd said. "I took him at his word. He said he would release the site back to me at no cost. ... Then I heard later he wanted $5,000 for the site. So he is nothing but an opportunist."

According to public records, Jackman owns a woodworking business in Indian Rocks Beach.

It is common for people to take what they believe could be a popular domain name and later sell it.

"When I tried to secure the site, I realized it was taken," Julison said. "We put $1,000 in. But he wouldn't sell it for that price. He initially said it would be a gift for Dakoda. But he never did it, and (that's) when the craziness started ... "

Mike Dowd said he was initially resistant to the idea of a Web site for his daughter. But he came around to the idea when he realized it could help breast cancer research and prolong the legacy of his wife.

"I wanted this to be a part of my daughter's healing process," he said. "I just want him to do the right thing. It's my daughter's name and she should have access to that. I think it's rude and wrong what he is doing."

Don't Knock 'Em Until You Try 'Em

2005-12-17T05:15:00.000-08:00

A Florida man has registered the Internet domain address dakotadowd.com, named for 12-year-old Dakoda Dowd, a promising Palm Harbor girl whose mom is terminally ill. He is attempting to sell the rights to the family, which is struggling financially, yet hopes to use the Web site to solicit cancer research donations. Because of her family's plight, Dakoda has been given a sponsor exemption into the LPGA's inaugural Ginn Open at Reunion Resort in April.

Despicable. Hope this guy finds several black coal-like lumps in his Christmas stocking. If not in his liver, kidneys and lungs for thumbing his nose at everybody who has ever waged the battle against cancer.

Just Shy, But Still Pinellas' Best

2005-12-16T16:56:00.000-08:00

"It was definitely a challenge playing with players as strong as [Morgan Pressel] and [Vicky Hurst]," [DANIELLE JACKSON, Sr.] said. "Morgan is basically on the LPGA tour, and Vicky will be there soon. It was probably unlikely that I was going to beat them, but you have to play with who you're put with."

At the region tournament, Jackson was the only player to shoot under par (71) as she helped Northside Christian win. Northside finished third at state. Still, Jackson did her part.

Largo's [Andrea Messer] fell just short of the Class 2A state title, losing in a playoff.; At the Class A tournament, Northside Christian's Danielle Jackson finished tied for third behind champion Morgan Pressel (who finished second at the U.S.; Open).; D.J. Jackson;

Standing on the 18th tee of the Links at Pointe West in Vero Beach, Largo's Andrea Messer was in the midst of a sudden-death playoff with Stuart Martin County's Alexandra Buelow.

Tied for the lead through 36 holes, the two were shuttled off to the par-4 18th to produce achampion at last month's Class 2A state tournament. Messer went first and hooked a 9-iron to the right. Buelow hit a gorgeous shot that landed a few feet from the cup.

On the brink of letting her first state title slip away, Messer went through a series of languid practice swings, her serenity seemingly unruffled. In those blue eyes, there was a familiar focus and no fear. But she couldn't catch up and watched Buelow birdie the hole.

Danielle Jackson understood her pain.

She was playing a few miles away in the Class A tournament against a stellar field that included Boca Raton St. Andrew's Morgan Pressel and Melbourne Trinity Episcopal's Vicky Hurst.

Jackson, a senior at Northside Christian, stayed within striking distance, shooting a first-round 69. But she faded a bit as Pressel, who finished second at the U.S. Women's Open, won her third consecutive title in a two-hole playoff.

"It was definitely a challenge playing with players as strong as Morgan and Vicky," Jackson said. "Morgan is basically on the LPGA tour, and Vicky will be there soon. It was probably unlikely that I was going to beat them, but you have to play with who you're put with."

Still, Messer and Jackson showed a lot of grit.

Messer competed with teammate Evan Jensen for top honors among the county's public school golfers. In fact, the two were so good, they often measured their skills against the boys. They fared well. At the Green Devil Invitational, Messer finished fifth.

"I wanted to get to state," Messer said. "But I also had some other goals, such as playing with the boys and doing well against them. I'll keep playing against them, and that'll help me get to the next level and, hopefully, win the state meet."

Jackson, the Times 2004 golfer of the year, was the key on a Mustangs team that returned four of five starters from last season's team that won the Class A title.

The only one missing was Dakoda Dowd, a homeschooled seventh- grader who skipped the season to spend time at home while her mother battles breast cancer.

Her departure left a gaping hole. Ultra-deep Northside found Ryan Ashburn to take her place.

But the key was Jackson.

Last summer, the Stetson recruit qualified for the U.S. Girls Junior Championship, a tournament that has served as a training ground for future pros such as Nancy Lopez, Kelli Kuehne, Beth Bauer and Aree Song.

During her flight to Eagle, Idaho, for the tournament, Jackson sat next to Pressel.

Jackson did her part to keep up with Pressel and keep her team in contention.

At the region tournament, Jackson was the only player to shoot under par (71) as she helped Northside Christian win. Northside finished third at state. Still, Jackson did her part.

"I still felt we accomplished a lot of things," Jackson said. "We lost one of our best players, and we still won the Bay Conference and district and region meets."

COACH OF THE YEAR

D.J. JACKSON, NORTHSIDE CHR.

In 2001, Jackson started the school's program, which climbed to the top of a strong group of county teams. Last season, the Mustangs won the Class A state title, only the second time the county had a girls golf champion.

This season, Northside sought history again. But one of its best golfers, seventh-grader Dakoda Dowd, took the year off because her mother is battling breast cancer.

The Mustangs did not repeat, finishing third, but were the strongest and most consistent team in the county.

Web Site Holder Playing Game With Family's Grim Time

2005-12-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

Mike Dowd is a computer illiterate.

Until recently, about all he knew about Web sites is that he didn't want one for his daughter. So what if she is one of the best junior golfers in America?

"I always thought it was pretentious to build a Web site for a 12-year-old," Dowd said.

Then things changed. Maybe you're familiar with the story of Dakoda Dowd. The girl from Palm Harbor could be the next Michelle Wie, though that's a lot of expectation to lay on any seventh-grader.

What's generating attention now is her mother's grim battle against breast cancer. Kelly Jo Dowd wants to hold on until April, when her daughter will play in the LPGA's inaugural Ginn Open at Reunion Resort.

You'd need a heart the size of a ball mark to not feel anything but sympathy.

Meet Ebenezer Jackman.

I take that back. His real name is Shawn Jackman, and the Pinellas County businessman could just be terribly misunderstood. Though you can see why the Dowds might be confused.

Ginn tournament officials wanted to set up a Web site for Dakoda. People could donate to cancer research. Money would also go to other children who need help chasing their dreams of becoming a golfer or pianist or whatever. Mike is a social worker, and knows what that could mean to his daughter.

"She would know her mother's loss is not in vain," he said. "She could help somebody else. How good would that be for the healing process?"

People have been speculatively grabbing domain names for years. It's one thing to grab Beer.com to get a big check from Anheuser-Busch. It's another to register DakodaDowd.com in hopes of shaking down a 12-year-old whose mother is dying of cancer.

Not that we're certain that is Jackman's plan. He did not return a call Wednesday, so all we can do is go by his conversations with tournament officials.

They offered him $1,000 for the name. No dice.

Jackman said he didn't like the fact the bid was made anonymously, but that he wouldn't have sold it even if he'd known it came from Bobby Ginn. A billionaire's check could always bounce, you know.

He said he wants to help the family by designing a Web site. If so, you'd think he'd solicit their input.

"He's made no attempt at all," Mike said.

Jackman also said he plans to give the Dowds the site. But he's held it for at least a couple of weeks, if not much longer. You'd think he would want to do it while Kelly Jo could appreciate the gesture.

"She's just really struggling," Mike said. "If it wasn't for the fact she can look in those little blue eyes of Dakoda's, she'd probably already have started to let go."

The Dowds are hurting financially, but Mike doesn't want charity. He had to come up with $12,500 for a burial plot this week. This story didn't come from him, but he turned down offers of help, saying it was his responsibility.

Dakoda could always use another domain name. But in the jungle that is the World Wide Web, name confusion can torpedo any enterprise.

All Dowd can do is hope Jackman's motives are more honorable than they appear. He's waiting to find out. He can't wait forever.

"I don't want to see the guy shamed," Mike said.

If shaming is what it takes, so be it. Though in a sad way, Jackman might be doing Dakoda a favor.

Since her story got out, the family has been overwhelmed by gestures of generosity and kindness. Now a 12-year-old is learning what Scrooges some grownups can be.

12-year-old Palm Harbor Girl Is Playing For Her Terminally Ill Mother

2005-12-08T16:21:00.000-08:00

Dakoda Dowd has become the most famous 12-year-old in golf. Which isn't to suggest that she's the most well-known "tween" elsewhere.

Or, for that matter, even the most famous kid named Dakoda, spelling notwithstanding.

"Well, there's Dakota Fanning," Dowd said of the child-star actress. "I'm really jealous. She's already a multi-millionaire."

Truth be told, Dowd, a promising junior player from Palm Harbor, would be happiest if she was just another anonymous kid. Her growing publicity parade continued Saturday at the Reunion Resort, where she was named the junior spokesperson for the national charity Birdies for Breast Cancer, an affliction the Dowd family knows intimately.

Last month, Dakoda was given a sponsor exemption into the inaugural LPGA Ginn Open in April, and the family is praying that Kelly Jo Dowd's terminal breast cancer doesn't take her life before she gets a chance to see her only child play with the game's top pros. Their story was picked up by several newspaper and TV outlets, making Dakoda a mini-celebrity, especially in golf circles.

Dakoda has grown up plenty in months since learning that her mom had only about a year to live and she's poised to help others in the same dire situation. The Ginn Company, developers of Reunion and the Bella Collina communities in the Orlando area, has pledged $100 for every birdie she makes in 2006 in her junior, high school and amateur events. Others can donate directly to the charity in Dowd's name at birdiesforbreastcancer.com.

"I think it's very special," Dowd said. "I'm glad to help other kids, other moms, because I don't think anybody should have to go through this."

Her parents continue to be swept up in a tidal wave of emotion that began when the LPGA sponsor exemption was announced. Of course, helping raise money to fight cancer trumps competing in a tournament by a long par-5 and then some.

"What a way to honor her mom," said Mike Dowd, 45, Dakoda's dad. "Her mom and I were talking today, 'Would you ever believe your daughter would be able to carry the torch of your memory?' What an incredible gift. It's much more incredible than playing in the tournament."

The Dowds live in a cramped apartment near the Innisbrook Resort in Pinellas County. Mike has had to quit his job to take care of his wife, yet there are some unseemly types out there trying to capitalize on their pain. The Ginn Company considered starting a Web site for the Dowds to help generate support, emotionally and financially, but found that a man in Largo had already registered the Internet domain name dakodadowd.com and is hoping to cash in by selling the title.
"Just some shameless opportunist," Mike Dowd said. "[Developer] Bobby Ginn tried to talk to the gentlemen, but he won't relent. It's just ridiculous."

Still, Kelly Jo has had an extra spring in her step for the past few weeks. Instead of just waiting around for fate to tap her on the shoulder, the family is fighting back as a unit.

"This makes me feel so elated and overjoyed that something like this has come into our lives," said Kelly Jo, 40. "I'm just so very, very proud that we're part of something like this."

Dakoda was formally named the junior captain for the charity by LPGA star Cristie Kerr, the charity spokesperson. Kerr's mom had cancer, too, but survived.

"Anything that heightens awareness of breast cancer makes me feel 100 percent better," Kelly Jo said.

Golf Prodigy Buoys Sick Mom

2005-11-29T08:48:00.000-08:00

A Florida girl who's considered one of the country's best young golfers has just learned that her dream of competing in a Ladies Professional Golf Association event will come true.

But, reports (video) Dave Price, it's a bittersweet moment: She just hopes her sick mother will be alive to see her play.

Dakoda Dowd is only 12, but has a swing even the pros envy.

She's played golf since she was four and, in that time, has won nearly 200 junior trophies.

Asked by Price if she knows what a gift she has, Dakoda shyly replied with a chuckle, "No."

But, says Price, don't let her modesty fool you. There's a reason she won all the awards and caught the attention of sportswriters all across the Sunshine State. She's a true golf prodigy.

Her longtime coach, Matt Mitchell, tells Price the Tampa-area resident is "the most incredible 12-year-old athlete-golfer I've ever seen."

But, says Price, what may be most incredible about Dakoda is that she's still playing at all.

In May, her mother, Kelly Jo, a former model, was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time. Doctors had given her a clean bill of health after her double mastectomy in 2002. But now the cancer is back and has spread to her bones and liver. And, says Price, this time it's expected to be terminal.

"I was so aggressive with my treatments," Kelly Jo says. "I mean, I couldn't have done any more. So, to find out that it came back, it was so hard. Chemo (therapy) was such a rough battle."

But Dakoda says her mom has shown her "how to be strong and how to have a good attitude and, when you have a good life and it starts to go wrong, just roll with it. … My parents try and keep everything real and just normal but it's not always easy."

Despite the devastating news, Dakoda has tried to keep a positive outlook, inspiring her parents to stay strong, as well.

Her father, Michael Dowd, is a counselor, so he counsels kids and their parents who go through tough times. What's this been like for him?

"As much as it pains me to think about losing a partner, it pales in comparison to a little girl losing her mother," Michael says.

"She's keeping me alive," Kelly Jo tells Price, holding back tears. "She's giving me strength, she's giving me hope. She's doing it all for me."

Dakoda's optimism has helped everyone around her, Price observes, saying, "This young girl has been a Rock of Gibraltar."

"She's hurting," Michael says. "She's devastated. How could you not be when you have a mother like she has? But she's very resilient, and very strong. And my wife and I do pick up off of her strength."

Kelly Jo has decided to go through chemo once again, if only to give her more time with Dakoda.

"When I looked into Dakoda's eyes," she says, "I definitely knew I would do chemo. I was going to fight for her."

Dakoda also wants more time with her mom, so she's cut back on her practicing and competition. She's the first to tell you, golf is no longer the priority it once was.

"It doesn't even compare," she says. "My mom and my family are 10 times more important than golf. A lot of people go through this. We were just dealt a bad card. But we'll get through it. I'd give up golf in a heartbeat for my mom to stay with me for the rest of my life."

The LPGA tournament Dakoda is slated to play in is Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open from April 27-30 in Orlando.

Profile In Courage, Golf Helps Bond 12 Year Old, Mom

2005-11-26T06:39:00.000-08:00

When you bow your head and clasp your hands when seated around the family dinner table sometime Thanksgiving Day, please – please – say a quiet prayer for Dakoda Dowd and her family.

Dowd is a congenial, fun-spirited and talented 12-year-old golfer from Palm Harbor, Fla., who is being asked to grow up faster than any 12-year-old should have to. Her mother, Kelly Jo, is three years into a mountainous health battle. Each day more sand slides out of the hourglass, forever lost.

Kelly Jo is 40, and her body, once proudly shown off in swimsuit calendars, has been infiltrated by cancer. Three years ago, breast cancer surfaced. She dealt with it, as did the family, and they seemed to be flying along with little obstruction last May – Michael doing some final touching up on the new family studio apartment, Mom spending time with relatives, Dakoda playing 36 holes – when Michael's phone rang with shattering news.

Kelly Jo's cancer was back. This time it was in her liver and in her bones.

Stage 4. Most advanced. Life expectancy, realistically, is a matter of months.

"I'm a social worker, so luckily some of the stuff I knew how to do, getting her on disability and retired from work, getting that going," Michael said last week, watching his daughter hit balls on the practice tee at Reunion Resort outside Orlando. "And then there are the things you don't know how to do, because you've never been through dealing with this with your spouse. . . . You just muddle your way through. And you take it a day at a time."

The Dowd clan – or as Kelly Jo calls it, Team Dowd – is an inspirational profile in courage and resiliency. With nothing guaranteed for tomorrow, they live for the day. Trite as it sounds, it's a lesson we all should heed. Thanksgiving Day called for Team Dowd to be visiting in Michigan with Kelly Jo's family, and Dakoda, her trusted golf clubs left behind in Florida, to be surrounded by the love and energy of uncles and aunts and cousins.

"She's looking forward to seeing some snow," Kelly Jo said of her only child. She smiled. "I think she might get to see a little."

Kelly Jo told Michael she feels this likely will be her last Thanksgiving.

"She wants to be with the family, enjoy some good home cooking, enjoy seeing her brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles," he said. "We pray that God gives us another one."

Kelly Jo was looking forward to spending quality time with her own parents.
"It's going to mean everything," she said.

* * *

If only things could be as simple as they sometimes appear. Standing on the green, green grass of a practice tee at Reunion is 12-year-old Dakoda, not a whole lot taller than her driver, hitting shot after shot, her rhythmic swing gently sending each ball on its way into a gray, cloud-filled sky.

So simple. Hard to believe she is 12. In late April, just after she turns 13, Dakoda has been invited to tee it up at the LPGA's inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open, a $2.5 million event that will boast the best players in golf. Her game, though polished in its infancy, is not yet ready for such a big stage, but she's playing in the hopes that her mother will be there to see a dream come to fruition: her little girl, playing alongside Annika Sorenstam and the very best women players in the world.

"In KJ's mind, she'll have made it, right there," says Michael.

There is a powerful simplicity in watching a child hit golf balls as well as Dakoda, or Koda, as her proud parents lovingly refer to her. Yet zoom out, and more than a half dozen television cameras have her in their collective eye, filming Dakoda for stories to run on media outlets ranging from the local nightly news to ESPN. A 12-year-old whose mom is dying. It's the kind of story that tugs heart strings, and Dakoda is under the media bigtop. Tiger Woods seldom, if ever, hits a bucket of practice balls under such scrutiny.

So much for simplicity.

Nearby, seated on a wooden bench one level away from where her daughter so gracefully swings, is Kelly Jo, pretty but frail, two days removed from surgery in which a cement-like substance was injected to fuse two vertebrae after a compress fracture. Kelly Jo's striking blue eyes stare off into the overcast November afternoon.

She doesn't really know what lies ahead. Nobody does. But Dakoda's invitation to play the LPGA event – extended by Ginn Co. president and CEO Bobby Ginn, who has become a family friend – has given the days and weeks ahead added purpose. Kelly Jo has been treating her cancer aggressively, fighting hard and doing all she can to be there to see that first shot.

"It gives Dakoda something to work toward, a goal, something to stay focused on," Kelly Jo says quietly. "It's given me something, too, to get to the next step, to watch her. It's been a little pot at the end of our rainbow, so to speak. Bobby Ginn has been a little piece of heaven for us. He really has."

Dakoda has collected nearly 200 trophies competing for several years around the Tampa/St. Petersburg junior circuit, but this is going to be a giant step.

"We're just proud and privileged that Mom is going to get to watch it and Dakoda is going to try to do her best," says Michael. "She's going to hit a lot of good shots, and hit a few wayward ones, and she's going to come home with an experience that is going to be irreplaceable. It'll be, 'I know where I'm trying to go, I've already been. I want to get back there.' I told her, this one is a gift. The next one you're going to have to earn.

"For Mom to be able to see Koda play in a tournament like this, she's like, 'Oh, yeah, she's made it.' For her to see that . . . she can rest. She can rest knowing she (Dakoda) fulfilled her dream."

Ginn said he was drawn to the Dowd's story because it was so tragic. Here's a 12-year-old girl who possesses great potential, maybe enough talent to one day be a standout on the LPGA, and her mother likely was not going to live long enough to see it. Many times, there's nothing one can do about things, but in this case, there was something that could be done.

He could invite young Dakoda to play in his LPGA event. So he did.

"I would love to see her mother there for the first tee shot (in April) and for the final putt," said Ginn. "I think that would be a real answered prayer."

* * *

Kelly Jo picked out her daughter's name ("I always loved that name, Dakota," she says) and Michael came up with the unique spelling.

"We couldn't have picked a better name," says Kelly Jo. "She is so raw, and so earthy. It's so her."

In many regards, Dakoda Dowd is like most 12-year-olds. She loves music, maybe more than golf, and jokes that if she doesn't make it in golf, she'll be a drummer for either Nine Inch Nails or My Chemical Romance. Though only in seventh grade, she already knows what it's like to win a state high school title, helping lead Northside Christian High School to a title last autumn, when she was 11. She didn't play this fall, choosing to spend more time with her mom.
Dakoda's dad laughs when he calls his daughter "a goof."

"She's a huge practical joker," he said. "She was the life of the party on her high school golf team last year. Eleven years old, and everybody knew Koda would be the one to come around and get the party started."

When that phone call came last May, informing the family of Kelly Jo's spreading cancer, Dakoda wasn't sure she wanted to play much golf anymore. She quit for about a week, then one day joined her father and walked onto the golf course at Innisbrook, where the family lives. She clearly wasn't herself, making a string of bogeys, and Dad suggested they go in.

"Not until I get a birdie," said Dakoda. "I can fight my way through this. Look at Mom and what she's going through."

There wouldn't be any birdies that day, but Koda showed the fight her brave mother has instilled in her. She and Kelly Jo have a special bond, right down to a weekly mother-daughter day where the two escape to a movie or a mall or go get a pedicure together, talking all the way.

It places a lump in one's throat to think a 12-year-old girl will face a future without that, without being able to share shopping junkets or cruises or just talk the morning after a first prom.

Michael Dowd says Dakoda often keeps to herself about all that is going on.

"I've come to really learn a lot about our daughter through this process," Michael says, "how resilient she is, how tough she is. We talk a lot. We're a very open family. We talk about all of this. We talk about things that are going to have to be dealt with down the road when Mom is not here.

"We pray that we'll get a miracle, but we're realists, and we realize that the likelihood of that, from a medical standpoint, isn't that good."

Dakoda and her dad have even talked about taking a road trip one day, carrying the ashes of Kelly Jo across the country to places her kindred spirit would love to see. Dakoda already has worked out some of the itinerary: "Colorado, Kentucky – I love Kentucky – Malibu, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. Oh, and Arizona," she says.

The words come from a 12-year-old in a pink visor who is not just some little girl, but a young woman who has been asked to handle a lot, and has done so with great love and maturity.

"It's OK," she says, reassuring a reporter who finds the conversation awkward and does not wish to be intrusive. "I understand everything that is happening with my Mom. She's so strong. I have every moment that I can with her.

"I know it sounds corny, but she's going to a better place."

On this particularly blustery November day, Dakoda Dowd plays a few practice holes at Reunion, tuning up for her April date. As all the cameras zoom in, she can barely feel her hands because of nerves, but Dakoda rips a drive on the opening hole down the left edge of the fairway. Though the hole plays into a strong wind, she makes a birdie.

"That a girl!" shouts a solitary voice. It belongs to Kelly Jo.

It's a voice we all hope to hear, need to hear, come April.

Say a prayer.

Sponsoring A Dream

2005-11-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

TAMPA - When the LPGA's inaugural Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open is played next April outside Orlando, Dakoda Dowd will nervously make her way -- not even two full weeks after turning 13 -- to the first tee box where she will play against Annika Sorenstam, Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis, and, if there is any justice in this world, make her mother's dying wish come true.
"Hopefully she'll be there to see it," Dakoda said.

The Palm Harbor junior golfer will play in the tournament at Reunion Resort and Club in Celebration on a sponsor's exemption, one of two open invitations granted to the tournament's corporate host. Along with Dowd, who played last year for Northside Christian High's state title golf team, newly announced pro Michelle Wie is expected to be offered the second exemption.

"We know Dakoda is a good little junior golfer who works hard at it," Michael Dowd said about his daughter. "But, you know, in no way yet is her game deserving of this kind of honor and respect that the Ginn people have provided us."

But her story tore at too many hearts.

The Dowds' saga was first told in a newspaper article this summer. That's when Dakoda's words turned anyone with a soul into blubbering goop.

She was talking about wanting to practice harder and longer but not having the will.

"I don't really love golf any less right now; it's just that my heart isn't in it as much as before," she said. "It's not even right that we are talking about golf with this because it's 10 times more important than anything else.

"My mother is dying."

A fight with breast cancer that Kelly Jo Dowd believed she had won had recently been resumed. Unfortunately, the insidious disease not only returned, it came back in an aggressive form in Kelly Jo's organs and bones.

Kelly Jo, 40, is a one-time Hooters swimsuit model who made herself the only woman to climb the restaurant chain's corporate ladder from waitress, to manager, and to general manager, operating the Palm Harbor store on North U.S. 19 from 2002 until she had to resign this year.

With Michael, a Pinellas County school system counselor, the parents stressed to Dakoda that she possessed talent and ability to be anything she wanted in life.

Dakoda said her dream was to one day play on the LPGA.

In that case, Kelly Jo said her dream was to one day see Dakoda play on the LPGA.

Dreams Tempered By Cancer
Doctors spoke differently. Kelly Jo's condition is worsening, and dating to July her life expectancy was measured in months. The pain intensifies daily; this week Kelly Jo had to return to the hospital to be treated for a compound fracture of a vertebra.

"We were going out the other night to pick up tacos and my daughter said, 'You know, Dad, Mom's only doing what she's doing because of me, you know that, right?' " Michael said. "All I could say was your mother is as courageous a woman as you will find and she is enduring her pain and fighting this battle so she can have another day to go get a pedicure with you, have another day to experience one of your golf tournaments, have another day to have a mother-daughter talk about a crush you have, to have another day to get closer to you turning 13 and the dream of watching you play professionally."

It was like somebody already had been listening.

'The Right Thing To Do'
It was several weeks after the story of Kelly Jo's fight was first told that a copy somehow worked its way in front of Bobby Ginn at his company headquarters in Celebration.

Right then, Ginn said he knew what he wanted to do. Dakoda Dowd would play against the LPGA players, and her mother deserved to see it.

"Just something we had the ability to do, and it's the right thing to do," Ginn said. "This was something we had control of in regard to being able to help somebody. Sometimes you hear about stories, but there is nothing one can do. This was a situation where we were able to do something."

Ginn may have no idea how much he did.

"Just to know my wife has a good shot at getting to April and watching Dakoda means so much," Michael said. "We are real people. We understand how difficult it is to play a sport at the professional level. Our daughter has quite a bit of talent and some people think she's got a good chance at making it, but in no way are we that presumptuous.

"But the fact in my wife's mind will forever be, 'Yes, she made it. I saw her make it.' That's all that matters. If Dakoda wants to go further with it, if she wants to put in the work, God bless her. … But in my wife's mind, she will have forever made it."

Sometimes things just fit. The Ginn Clubs & Resort Open already had selected The Florida Hospital Cancer Institute as the tournament's charity. LPGA player Cristie Kerr, whose mother is battling breast cancer, is a spokeswoman for the Ginn Company, and promotes her Birdies for Breast Cancer Foundation.

As with Kerr, who receives donations for her foundation with each birdie made during competition, the Ginn Company will make a pledge to breast cancer research for each birdie Dakoda makes during any junior events she plays.

Why? Because it feels right.

"There was a board meeting with a table full of hardened business guys and after that story was passed around, there wasn't a dry eye in the room," Ginn senior vice president Ryan Julison said.

The announcement of Dakoda's sponsor's exemption and Birdies for Breast Cancer junior spokeswoman role was to be announced last month at Reunion Resort at a charity fundraiser. Hurricane Wilma caused the postponement of the function, but because she was already there, Dakoda, joined by her dad and the resort's director of golf, Jim Kroll, played the course.

"It is easy to forget that she is only 12 years old because her game is so mature," Kroll said. "She will perform well in the LPGA event."

But before that, Dakoda was given a tougher task. The Dowds were told the sponsor's exemption was being offered, but the announcement would not be made until this week.

"I'm the only person who didn't tell someone," Dakoda said. "My whole family went berserk and told every single person they knew. But I told absolutely nobody."

Now, finally, it's out. Everybody knows.

Good news travels fast.

Dakoda Dowd, 12, Will Receive An Exemption Into Next Year's LPGA Ginn Clubs And Resorts Open,

2005-11-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

She may not be the next Michelle Wie or Morgan Pressel, but 12-year-old Dakoda Dowd will see her dream of competing on the LPGA Tour come true next season, according to a published report in the St. Petersburg Times.

Dowd will receive a sponsor's exemption into the inaugural Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open, to be played April 27-30 in Orlando.

But it's not necessarily cause for celebration. Dowd's mother, Kelly Jo, has cancer that has advanced incurably to the liver and bones.

"We just felt it was the right thing to do," Ryan Julison, senior vice president of corporate communications for the Ginn Co., told the paper. "Dakoda's dream was to play professionally and her mother is fighting to stay alive to see that happen. We didn't think that goal would be fulfilled given the situation with Dakoda's mother. "This gives her a chance."

Kelly Jo Dowd is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

"Every day Kelly fights," said Dakoda's father, Mike. "She goes through chemo and all the pain so she spend a little more with me and her daughter. She wants so much to see Dakoda make it.

"This is something that will definitely be memorable for all of us."

As for the Dakoda's chances at the event? She finished in second place at last year's Florida Class A high school region tournament, but has no illusions about winning.

"It's unbelievable to have that kind of opportunity," Dowd said. "I'm kind of nervous to play on such a big course with so many great players."

Dowd and Wie are the two players given exemptions into the LPGA event.

Golf Community Comes Together For Dakoda Dowd

2005-10-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

Oldsmar, Florida -- She's the nation's top golfer in her age group. But checking out Dakoda Dowd's swing isn't the real reason all these people are here.

Kelly Jo Dowd, Dakoda's Mom: "Honestly it's one of the most special things I've ever been a part of, seeing the community come together."

Dakoda's vivacious mom, Kelly, has incurable cancer. So Dakoda, the 12-year-old Number 2 golfer on her high school team, gave up playing this year.

Dakoda Dowd, Golf Prodigy:
"They're doing great and I'll miss them, but it's better spending time with my Mom."

LPGA Rookie Brittany Lincicome used to babysit Dakoda. So tonight, she joins fellow pros like Rich Beem and John Huston in a fundraising clinic, all to help another golf family.

Brittany Lincicome, LPGA Rookie:
"It's hard, its really hard, but she seems to have a good spirit about it and she's taking it day by day, so that's good."

This event hopes to raise $5,000 to $10,000 to help with Kelly's mounting medical bills - and also help fund Dakoda's future golf education.

Mike Dowd, Dakoda's Dad:
"When you're dealing with something like we're dealing with, like so many families have to deal with daily, and then you have people coming behind you and lifting you up and keeping you positive and giving you something to look forward to, it's just incredible."

As is the spirit of a young girl, a mirror of her amazing mom.

Dakoda Dowd:
"She's the strongest woman I know, of course, and I'm just thankful to have her."

Kelly Dowd, Fighting Cancer:
"The reality is I am a cancer patient, I do have cancer, but I am fighting it to the best of my ability, so we'll see what happens. God willing, and all the prayers, maybe I can come out of this ok."

Palm Harbor's Dakoda Dowd Wins Again

2005-10-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

JUNIORS: Palm Harbor's Dakoda Dowd, 12, won the girls 12-14 and 15-18 divisions in the Southeast Junior Golf Association Tournament last weekend in Athens, Ga. With par-73 and 78, Dowd topped her age bracket by six strokes and the 15-18 competition by 1. The win qualifies her for a national AJGA event.

THE DOWNS GOLF FACILITY TO HOST CHARITY EVENT FOR DOWD FAMILY

2005-10-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday evening, October 25th , the Downs Golf Practice Facility located at 11225 Race Track Road will host the “Night under the Lights with the Pros”, featuring several PGA and LPGA Tour professionals; including appearances by Rich Beem, John Daly, John Huston, Paul Azinger, Fred Funk, Brittany Lincicome and Dale Eggers. The evening event is co-sponsored by Golfers Guide, the Tampa Tribune, Razor Golf, T & D Golf and Tampa Bay Downs and is being held as a fund raiser for the Dakoda Dowd and her family.

Dakoda, the 12-year-old golf prodigy from Palm Harbor, is currently the highest ranked female golfer in her age group and a regular student of Matt Mitchell, instructor at the Downs. Her family is enduring a personal crisis with Kelly-Jo Dowd’s (Dakoda’s mother) ongoing battle with cancer and the fund will be put in place to help the family with medical expenses and with Dakada’s future golfing education.

The evening will kick off at 5:30pm with a $2,500 Hole in One Contest sponsored by T& D Golf plus a Chipping Contest sponsored by Razor Golf and a putting contest sponsored by Paradise Golf.

Special clinics and personal appearances by Rich Beem, John Daly, John Huston, Paul Azinger, Fred Funk, Brittany Lincicome and Dale Eggers will begin at 6:30pm with your chance to pick-up a tip or two from the pros.
Throughout the event golf demos by all the big names in golf clubs will take place on the tee line; with Titliest, Mizuno, Razor, Bridgestone, MacGregor all having swing and putting seminars.

To round out the golfing experience the Downs will host complimentary food demonstrations and tasting sponsored by Tampa Bay Downs, wine sampling sponsored by Grapevine Liquor (you must be at least 21 years of age to participate in this event) or take a stroll to the cigar lounge to have a hand at rolling the perfect stogie, and don’t forget to bring your appetite to the bar-be-que pavilion.
Make your plans now to bring out the family and friends for a “Night under the Lights with the Pros” and test your putting and chipping skills for a great cause.

Clearwater Prodigy

2005-10-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

Contributing to the rain-shortened 7-under 29 victory were David Smith and Tommy Throng of Lake Jovita and 11-year-old Dakoda Dowd of Clearwater.

As a sixth-grader, Dowd was a member of Northside Christian's state championship team last fall.

"She's amazing," Jewell said. "I never saw anyone that young play so well."

By DAVE THEALL
Published March 23, 2005

Innisbrook Christmas Junior Classic 2004

2005-10-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

Clearwater's Dakoda Dowd , a member of Northside Christian's state championship team and a Times all-county first-teamer this past fall, tied for second (79-77-156) in the girls 13-18 division, ahead of Seminole's Rachel Edwards , a second-teamer for the Warhawks, (78-74-162) and Dunedin's Justine Knox (87-79-166).

By DAVE THEALL
Published December 28, 2004

Tribby and Dowd win at TPC Tampa Bay - 7/16/2004

2005-10-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

The Southeastern Junior Golf Tour completed play today at the TPC Tampa Bay Golf Course in Lutz, Florida. The final round began at 7:30 AM and the players had to endure some extreme heat that reached 95+ degrees and the heat index had to be over 100 degrees.

Two players, Chris Muratore and Matt Tribby were the first round leaders in the overall male division after each shot 72 in round one. Tribby came out ahead after the completion of round two. The Gainesville, Florida native closed with a 73 and won the overall division by six shots over a trio of players. Cody Ryan, Chris Muratore and Rikiya Kitagawa all tied for second place with a two day total of 151. After matching scorecards for second place the award for second was given to Kitagawa, third to Ryan and Muratore took fourth.

The SJGT has visited three Champions Tour sites over the last three weeks and they include, The Moors in Milton, FL, Springhouse GC in Nashville, TN and finally the TPC course at Tampa Bay which is the home of the Outback Pro-Am. In the 14-15 division the winner was Conner Good. Good who is from Dothan, Alabama shot 77-75. Conner opened the day three shots behind the first round leader Micah Jacobsen. Jacobsen opened with a 74 and had to WD after 8 holes do to a back injury. Conner finished three shots ahed aof second place finisher John Gregory Joseph and four ahead of Japan native BK Sobhani who shot 156.

In the female division the winner overall was 11 year old Dakoda Dowd who is from Clearwater, FL. Dowd was the first round leader after firing a 83, but Dowd closed with a 77 and won by a whopping 11 shots over both Amelia Lewis who took second in the 12-14 division and Randall Norman who won the 15-18 division. The second place finisher in the 15-18 division was Lindsay Holley. All four players in the female division improved their scores in round two.

"A Daughter's Devotion"

2005-10-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

A recent article, "A Daughter's Devotion", literally made me cry. It is such a touching article to read. The author wrote an amazing story on a 12 year-old golf phenomenon and her mother's fight with cancer. Dakoda Dowd had been playing golf since she was five years old. "She is the nation's top ranked golfer in the 2011 graduating class," author Bob Putnam writes. I was amazed when I read her stats and was a stunned on how a girl, six years younger than I, could already be so well structured and dedicated to something in life. I was again shocked when I read that her mother suffered from breast cancer. Fortunately though, doctors were able to remove it. Dakoda still began to play golf and improve. Then the worse possibility of the article came. Her mother, Kelly, was diagnosed again with metastatic cancer, meaning it spread to her liver and bones. The Dowd's were told she could die within a year. This article would be touching no matter how it was written. I think this girl is amazing and is someone that everyone of every age should look up to. She gave up defending her school's golf title this year so she could stay close to her mother. Imagine how hard that would be. This story is very sad, but inspiring. It inspires young athletes to keep persevering even through the toughest times, but know that no matter what, family comes first.
posted by: asavas at 21:07

Practicing Like A Pro

2005-10-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

If a 10-year-old hits 100 yards, it's significant. Dakoda Dowd is a 10-year-old golfer who hits it 200 yards!

Dakoda says, "When you hit a good shot it feels really good and when you hit it far and you outdrive the other girls that's really fun."

With a look at Your Kids, I'm Scott Fais.

Winning golf tournaments is nothing new for 10-year old Dakoda Dowd. At the ripe old age of four, Dakoda picked up a club and started swinging.

Just recently, her dad gave up coaching Dakoda and let personal golf pro, Matt Mitchell take over.

Want to create a future golf pro in your family? Mitchell says good gear for your kids is one thing, while kids who have the desire to play is everything.

Mitchell tells us, "She's got this great gift for the golf clubs. She's got great hand eye skills. She's got love for the game it's easy for her. You don't have to force feed anything to her. She just goes out takes
it and runs with it."

Dakoda has ambition. She has spent time getting tips from the LPGA's Anika Sorenstam, her hero, and Emily Klein.

However, it is Kelly Jo Dowd, Dakoda's Mom, who let the secret out of the bag. Kelly told us, "The more time you have to spend on your golf game the better you're going to get, bottom line."

That is why Dakoda is home schooled. She has time to work on her golf game and her schoolwork.

That is a look at Your Kids
I am Scott Fais for Central Florida News 13.

A daughter's devotion

2005-10-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

PALM HARBOR - Dakoda Dowd sees the world in narrow focus. Ball. Target. The space between.

If the goal is to beat golfers into submission, Dowd is practically there. The 12-year-old, who has won 185 junior trophies, is the latest prodigy du jour.

She is the nation's top-ranked golfer in the 2011 graduating class. Last year as a sixth-grader she was the No.2 golfer on the team at Northside Christian High and helped the Mustangs win their first state title.

But the single-mindedness in her pursuit for perfection is not there. She has scaled back the number of tournaments and decided against playing this season for Northside.

The focus now, she says, is on her family.

"My mom is dying."

Kelly Jo Dowd, 40, discovered a lump in her breast in December 2001. She waited 10 months before having a mammogram.

The diagnosis was cancer.

Ignoring conservative prescriptions for recovery, Kelly opted for a double mastectomy, which included removing 21 lymph nodes under her right arm - two cancerous. There also were chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Waiting for remission, she became the glue that held the Dowds together. As her family worried, Kelly remained calm, even upbeat. She insisted on reporting to work at Hooters in Palm Harbor, though the chemotherapy made her hair fall out and sapped her strength.

Kelly was a fixture at Hooters. She worked her way through the restaurant's chain and says she's the only person to go from waitress to general manager.

Her hair grew back and she appeared to be cancer-free. That lasted more than two years. Then Kelly felt fatigued, so she decided to have more tests.

This news was worse.

* * *

Mike Dowd, 45, has spent 23 years as a social worker for the Pinellas County school district. He is an expert at helping children and their families make sense of tragedies.

But nothing could have prepared him to deal with the gravity of his wife's situation.

In May, he received a call from Kelly's nurse.

The cancer was back.

This time, the diagnosis was a metastatic disease. The primary cancer had advanced incurably to the liver and bones.

Kelly could die within a year.

Mike dropped the phone. He fell to the ground and cried uncontrollably.

"All my training pretty much went out the window," Mike said. "I've been married to my wife for 17 years, and I've got one of those situations where she's my best friend.

"It was devastating."

Mike then had to figure out when to tell his wife. Kelly was in Michigan visiting relatives.

"I really didn't know what to do," Mike said. "Should I wait until she comes home or tell her now so she could be with her family?

"I decided it would be best to call right away."

But he still had to tell Dakoda.

Mike's initial thought was to wait until they picked Kelly up from the airport. But Dakoda sensed something was wrong.

"Is Mommy okay?"

Mike pulled the car over and explained what happened.

Dakoda's mood swung between anger and depression before she settled on grudging acceptance.

"I was just so mad at first," Dakoda said. "I didn't want to see her suffer through that again. That makes it hard to concentrate on golf at times, but I want to keep playing to make her proud."

* * *

Dakoda is a phenom in a sport that seems to anoint future stars as they emerge from the womb.

She was drawn to golf by age 4. Her father played recreationally and she often accompanied him. The two bonded through the sport. Mike played. Dakoda watched.

But Dakoda wanted more. She was itching to get her shot.

One day, Mike was at the driving range when Dakoda asked if she could try. She hit the ball high and far. And she did it again. And again.

"I knew I had a natural," Mike said.

Dakoda became so hooked that at 5 she told her dad she wanted to someday turn professional and be a dominant player.

"She's been so focused on the sport and it hasn't wavered," Mike said.

The Dowds devoted themselves to their daughter's success. They entered Dakoda in junior tournaments, took her to clinics held by golfers such as Annika Sorenstam and paid for lessons with top-notch coaches such as Matt Mitchell, who also has instructed Brittany Lincicome and Beth Bauer.

"Dakoda has the best hand-eye skill of any athlete I've ever worked with," Mitchell said. "People are going to see that and say that she's gifted. But that doesn't come by birth. She's very structured in how she works. I think she's right up there with ome of the others I've been around."

Lincicome, a former state champion from Seminole High who is now on the LPGA Tour, is a role model for Dakoda.

"I've played with her a few times, even babysat her once," Lincicome said. "Dakoda's a phenomenal player and probably more advanced at that age than I was. It's amazing that she's been able to do so well with everything that's going on with her mother. That's a lot to be going through for someone that young."

The training has paid off. Dakoda shot 72 to finish second at last year's Class A high school region tournament, followed by rounds of 75 and 76 at the state tourney. But she couldn't make the commitment to help Northside Christian defend its title because of her mom's illness.

"I completely understand given her situation," said Northside Christian coach D.J. Jackson, who attended Clearwater Central Catholic High with Mike Dowd. "I know that if Dakoda could be here, she would. I also know she wouldn't do something if she couldn't give it her all. That's just the way she is."

* * *

Dakoda grew up in a hurry, on and off the course. When her mom first became sick, Dakoda was taken out of elementary school. She now fulfills her scholastic requirements on a home-school schedule custom-fit to reach her potential in golf.

But the Dowds also decided on home-schooling to maintain a balance in their daughter's life while nurturing her game to the fullest.

"It's worked out because we are able to spend more time together and she can help out with things when I'm not feeling well," Kelly said.

Last year, Mike decided the family should scale back to help with some of Kelly's medical costs. They sold their townhome in the Countryside area for a studio apartment.

Dakoda's home now is in the Westin Innisbrook Resort, one of the most comprehensive playgrounds for golfers.

The move provided Dakoda easy access to the resort's top instructors. It also gave her the chance to rub elbows with pros when she plays on the resort's Island and Copperhead courses.

But there have been problems living in such tight quarters.

"I've had to tell Dakoda to just turn the television up and sleep with it on," Mike said. "otherwise, she hears her mother in pain all night."

* * *

Kelly does not think of her cancer as unlucky and will not consider her impending death to be so. She is not so stoic that she never cries at bad news, but she does not permit much self-pity. Fighting from procedure to procedure, she suffers little remorse over the loss of her once-flourishing career.

Kelly is buoyed by the support of friends and co-workers and their concern. Hooters organized a benefit that helped raise more than $56,000 to help with Kelly's medical costs and her loss of income. The company also paid for membership fees at Innisbrook so the family could golf year-round.

"Kelly has put up such a valiant fight and it's just heartbreaking to see what's happened," said Ed Droste, co-founder of Hooters. "She was one of the originals here and we just wanted to do our part to help in some way with things like the fundraiser and the membership fees. We understand that Dakoda is a great golfer and has a bright future, so we wanted the family to be able to focus on that during this time."

The courage and dignity Kelly displayed also touched a nerve with Donald Trump, who heard about her situation from Randy White, the pastor of Without Walls International Church in Tampa. Trump paid for the Dowds to fly to New York to stay at Trump Towers and for Dakoda to play at his course.

"That was so much fun," Dakoda said. "The room was bigger than my house and there was a Jacuzzi! The golf course had waterfalls, it was one of the nicest courses. The room service was the best and I got to play video games."

The fundraisers and trips have not been enough to lift the cloud that has haunted Kelly. She still goes through chemo with hopes of living a purposeful life. Her closeness with Dakoda has enabled her to deal with cancer and grow from it.

"We try to strengthen our bond as much as possible," Kelly said. "Every Wednesday we have a mother-daughter day. I think we'll keep doing that as long as I'm here. I just want to spend time with Dakoda. She's a such a phenomenal talent and has so much God-given ability. I know she's going to do great things when I'm gone."

By BOB PUTNAM, Times Staff Writer
Published October 4, 2005