Major Dan Rooney, an F-16 pilot, returned from his third tour in Iraq last November and went to work with the Folds of Honor to raise money for scholarships for the families of soldiers injured or killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Rooney, a PGA professional and USGA member, combines his love of golf with his dedication to the cause.

 

The Patriot Golf Day, sponsored by the PGA and the United States Golf Association, is a nationwide campaign for Folds of Honor, which raised $2 million last year. Three thousand four hundred participating golf courses across the country collected an extra dollar in green fees for Folds of Honor, which was able to award almost 200 scholarships in 2008. The third annual Patriot Golf Day will take place this summer.

 

Rooney earned his undergraduate degree as well as a master’s degree in Performance Psychology from the University of Kansas. The decorated military aviator and major in the Air National Guard was honored with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award as well as an Air National Guard Distinguished Service Medal last year.

 

A father of four, Rooney is a golf course owner and residential developer as well as a certified Sports Psychologist. Rooney’s maternal grandfather John McKoane came form County Clare, and most of the Rooney clan came to the U.S. between 1840 and 1860 from Counties Down and Dublin.