By Brett Grassmuck
Staff Writer

During the summer, when wide receiver Dane Looker isn’t playing football, it’s likely that he can be found on the golf course.

Looker, an avid golfer, was able to take his passion for golf and utilize it to help kids in need as he hosted the Dane Looker Celebrity Golf Tournament to benefit the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders.

“I play in a lot of golf tournaments, but this one was really an opportunity for me to use golf to help out a great cause,” Looker said. “Getting to know the people down there, and getting to see the kids, it’s really become more personal to me than just a golf tournament.”

The Walker Scottish Rite Clinic assists children ages 2-6 with speech and language disorders. The clinic works with the children to assist them in developing language skills that will help them succeed as they enter school and throughout the rest of their lives.

“It is really crucial for those kids to get that treatment before they enter kindergarten,” Looker said. “If they enter kindergarten behind the eight ball language wise, it’s tough from that point to really get the most out of their academic experience. The great thing about it is this golf tournament is that it helps raise money for that clinic, which is totally free for anyone that needs to use it.”

This is Looker’s second year hosting the annual golf tournament, which took place at Stonewolf Golf Club in Fairview Heights, Ill., on Tuesday, and raised around $85,000 for the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic.

“Dane, of course, is amazing,” said Sheri Mistretta, executive director of the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic. “He’s a great player. He’s a great dad. He had Amy (his wife) on site with their three kids. Everybody loved seeing the kids because people are golfing in the tournament to help raise funds for kids in need. It was just so cool.”

Looker wasn’t the only Ram in attendance, as he brought along nearly 30 of his teammates and coaches, including head coach Scott Linehan, as celebrity players for the tournament. 

“Everyone appreciated that Rams outreach, and they were excited to be a part of that world for a little bit,” said Mistretta. “Everybody said every single one of the Rams guys were sweet and kind and willing to talk. They seemed happy to be there and had just impeccable manners. It was really cool. They loved the Rams guys being there and loved seeing their commitment for Dane.”

The weather forecast couldn’t have been dimmer for the tournament day, but the weather held off and provided perfect conditions for an afternoon of golf.

The day began with brunch and a few practice swings and putts at the driving range or putting green, and then it was off to the course for an 11:00 a.m. shotgun start.

Looker did his best to golf with every participant in the tournament, making the rounds with his son Isaac and hitting one shot with every foursome, thanking them personally for assisting the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic.

“I love golf, and I’ve gotten to know their clinic pretty well,” Looker said. “I’ve had opportunity to go down there and check out what they do, and it’s a great cause.”

As the players finished their 18 holes and returned to the clubhouse, there was a hot meal waiting for them as well as several live and silent auction items to bid on, including Steven Jackson’s game-worn shoes.