They clamored to see her. When LPGA Tour winner and current Epson Tour member Cydney Clanton walked through the glass-front double doors at Bull Valley Golf Club, two girls with Down syndrome almost sprinted to meet her. They wore matching t-shirts and ear-to-ear smiles. Clanton stuck out her hand and introduced herself in a tone that communicated familiarity, not with these kids but with the broader universe of young adults with intellectual disabilities.

“So nice to meet you,” Clanton said. “Are you first- or second-year students?” After a moment of banter, she shook their hands again and wished them the best. “I’ll see you throughout the day,” she said.

The “day” was the Monday after the Great Lakes Championship at the Highlands presented by Johnnie Walker. After her final round, Clanton made a circuitous drive from Harbor Springs, Mich., to suburban Chicago and then headed back to Michigan for the Island Resort Championship in Harris, a total of 14 hours in the car.

But Clanton wouldn’t have traded the trip for anything. The faces of the young people at Bull Valley made any drive worth it.

She was there for a fundraiser for the World Leaders Forum, a nonprofit that supports Judson University and more specifically the school’s RISE program. Judson is a small, private, Christian university in Elgin, Ill., about 30 minutes from the Miracle Mile. One of its most significant initiatives, RISE, brings in students with intellectual disabilities for a two-year, on-campus experience where they learn self-reliance, independent living and job skills. They walk side-by-side with the student body. But most importantly to Clanton, Judson helps them grow in their Christian faith.

“The golf world is small. I always say, ‘Don’t burn bridges,’ because everyone knows everyone,” Clanton said. “The LPGA Tour had an event in Toledo, Ohio, and I stayed with the same family for years. One day, out of the blue, (my host) reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, a friend of mine’s brother is president of Judson University, and they’re looking to connect with an LPGA player who has a faith-based background for a program that they do for kids with intellectual disabilities. Would you be interested in doing an outing for them?’

“She knew that I had a strong faith background, but she didn’t know that I had a niece with Down Syndrome, so it was a perfect pairing.”

Six years later, Clanton now sits on the World Leaders Forum board. She is the only Epson Tour player to serve in such a capacity.

“I was thrilled to learn about a program where kids with intellectual disabilities could come onto a campus, learn about independent living, spiritual formation, and then employment. It’s cool to know there is a place that helps in all those areas,” Clanton said. “There’s a similar program at Clemson that doesn’t have the faith component, and for me, that is so important.”

Clanton’s contribution goes beyond an annual outing. According to Judson president Dr. Gene Crume, “From my first conversation with Cydney, when she shared the story of her niece, I knew that she had a heart from the RISE program. Since then, Cydney has come to other Judson events supporting RISE. Along the way, my wife Cindy and I have been blessed to hear about her passion for serving others.

“Our World Leaders Forum board had leaders from business, community service, creative arts and the public good,” Crume said. “Cydney brings a distinguished and unique leadership perspective as a professional athlete who has also demonstrated how to use her platform to make the communities she cares about better places.”

She certainly made the fundraiser at Bull Valley special.

“We had a couple of RISE students come through the (par 3) where I was stationed at our most recent outing,” Clanton said. “One of the guys during the first couple of groups was kind of heckling the players. So, I said to him, ‘You know, we golfers are a little sensitive. We like to focus on the positive. If we could be more encouraging, that would be awesome.’ From that moment on, he crushed it. He was incredibly supportive and positive.”

Clanton has also crushed it as a leader and giver for most of her career. A strong Christian who pitches in to lead the fellowship meetings on the Epson Tour, she understands the ebbs and flows of Tour life in a way that draws others close. But she also has a perspective outside of sports that leaders around the world find inspiring.

“It touches your heart every time you get to spend time around these kids,” Clanton said of the RISE students. “It’s great to see the joy in their faces. They brighten every room they enter.”

The same can be said of her.

Cydney Clanton Puts Service Above Self Off the Golf Course

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