Shaq's Mama Said Dakoda Dowd Is In

The Quality of Life Fund honors the lifetime accomplishments of Odessa Chambliss (www.ocqualityoflifefund.com) and its mission, which is to make monetary contributions to institutions that aid students who lack the financial resources for nursing and educational scholarships as well as cancer research.

Hosted by Shaq's Mama (Lucille O'Neal) and sponsored by: ACI, WLOQ 103.1, Steve and Ellen Jackson Foundation, 24 Hour Fitness, Mine O' Mine, Inc., Rosen Hotels and Resorts, Universal Studios, NGI, Celebrity Fight Night, Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation, Mercedes Benz of Orlando, Bethune Cookman-College, Turner Construction, and Friedman's Shoes.

This year is the first spectacular golf tournament at Shingle Creek Golf Club on Friday at 8 a.m., coupled with an evening of thrills and comedy, music, and excitement at the silent auction, dinner and black-tie gala scheduled to be held at Universal's Royal Pacific Hotel and Resort. Celebrity golfers Andia Winslow, Dakoda Dowd, Julius Erving, Fred McGriff, Antonio Tarver and others will help kick off this inaugural golf outing at Thursday's Pairings Party and live auction.

Dakoda Dowd Handles Field At Jim Valvano Celebrity Classic

Dakoda Dowd of Palm Harbor played in the Jim Valvano Celebrity Classic in Raleigh, N.C., a cancer research fund-raiser. She posted 2-under 69 the first day and her Sunday scramble team finished fourth. Too bad for partners getting in the way Dakoda.

Dakoda Dowd Takes Ryan Wells Memorial

In the girls' division of the Ryan Wells Memorial, encompassing both high school and middle school, Dakoda Dowd, of Palm Harbor, and Cypress Run took a giant step forward winning at age 13 by coming back from an opening round of 77 with a 68 on Sunday for 146.

Dowd, who is homeschooled, defeated last year's co-champions Evan Jensen (148) and Andrea Messer (152), who play for Largo High. They finished third and fourth behind runner-up Whitney Wenglasz (73-74-147) of Oldsmar, who plays for East Lake High.

Dakoda Dowd To Play In Shaq's Charity Golf Tournament

The "Shaq's Mama Said Knock You Out" Celebrity Charity Golf Tournament at Rosen Shingle Creek is scheduled for Sept. 15 and marks a sporty departure from the usual collaborative charitable efforts from the powerful tag-team of Shaquille and Lucille O'Neal.

All money raised will go to the Odessa Chambliss "Quality of Life Fund" to provide nursing scholarships. The fund is named in honor of Lucille O'Neal's mother and Shaquille O'Neal's grandmother, Odessa Chambliss, who worked for more than 16 years in the nursing profession and who passed away in 1996.

Last year's event, staged on Miami Beach, raised $300,000.

Former Magic man Dennis Scott, golfer Dakoda Dowd, and Tarver, a three-time light-heavyweight champion, are among the celebrities who will be back -- and happy the format has changed

Dakoda Dowd Out After 1st Round Of Match Play

Palm Harbor's Dakoda Dowd lost 4 and 3 to Korea's Wonjoo Choi in the first round of match play Wednesday at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.

Clearwater's Courtney Harter also lost in the round of 64, falling 5 and 4 to Honolulu's Stephanie Kono.

Qualifying medalist Mina Harigae won two matches to advance to the third round before play was suspended because of rain, with 11 second-round matches still in progress.

Harigae, 16, from Monterey, Calif., beat Tiffany Dong of Sacramento, Calif., 5 and 3 in the first round and topped Margaret Pentrack of Pittsburgh 4 and 3 in one of only five second-round matches finished.

The matches will be completed today, with the third after.
In other completed second-round matches on the Carmel Country Club's South Course, Sara Hurwitch of Potomac Falls, Va., beat Choi 3 and 2; Cydney Clanton of Concord, N.C., topped Kristina Wong of Vestal, N.Y., 4 and 3; Stephanie Kono of Honolulu, Hawaii, edged Vietnam's Brianna Do 3 and 1; and Jane Rah of Torrance, Calif., beat Mindy Kim of Diamond Bar, Calif., 4 and 2.

Isabelle Lendl of Goshen, Conn., the 14-year-old daughter of former tennis star Ivan Lendl, led Kimberly Kim of Hilo, Hawaii, 3-up after 13 holes in the second round.

Dakoda Dowd Makes Cut Ay Girls Junior U.S. Open

Dakoda Dowd, who became the youngest player to compete in an LPGA tournament earlier this year at the age of 13, managed a 3-over 75 and also came in at plus-7. Dowd played in the Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open in late April because her mother, Kelly Jo, is battling breast cancer and wanted to see her daughter play on tour.

Lee On Top At U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, Dakoda Dowd Shoots 4 Over

Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Joanne Lee fired a three-under-par 69 Monday to take a one-shot lead after the first day of competition at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.

Lee had four birdies and one bogey on the first day of stroke play at Carmel Country Club. The 17-year-old native of San Carlos, CA missed the cut at the U.S. Women's Open earlier this month, carding a two-day total of 23-over-par.

Kelsey Lindenschmidt and Maria Jose Uribe are each tied for second place, while seven players are at minus-one. Stacey Kim, Lindy Duncan, Ayaka Kaneko, Patty Chawalitmetha, Kristina Wong, Mindy Kim and Lila Barton are all two strokes behind Lee.

Fourteen-year-old MacKinzie Kline was granted the use of a golf cart because of a congenital heart defect. She shot even-par.

Morgan Pressel, the 2005 U.S. Women's Amateur champion and a runner-up in last year's U.S. Women's Open, struggled to a four-over 76 and is tied for 48th place.

Dakoda Dowd, who became the youngest player to compete in an LPGA tournament earlier this year at the age of 13, also shot a 76. Dowd receives plenty of attention and emotional support, as her mother, Kelly Jo, continues to fight breast cancer.

Eight-time Grand Slam tennis winner Ivan Lendl has a rooting interest in this tournament, as two of his daughters, Isabelle and Marika are playing. Isabelle Lendl is two-over, while Marika is plus-five.

Tuesday marks the end of the first two rounds of stroke-play qualifying. The top 64 scorers will then start match play Wednesday and the event concludes on Saturday with a 36-hole match play final.

Last year, In-Kyung Kim defeated fellow 17-year-old In-Bee Park to win the event, which has proven to be a springboard for success for LPGA talent over the years. Past winners of this championship include Nancy Lopez, Hollis Stacy Amy Alcott and Pat Hurst. Stacy was a three-time champion while Lopez captured this event twice.