PGA Tour pro Luke List is playing this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship in hopes of improving his Tour status for next year, and for the chance to capture back-to-back wins in Jackson. But the two-time Tour winner and defending champion has more important things on his mind than his career.
That’s because List and his family rode out Hurricane Helene at their home in Augusta, Ga., where the historic storm caused widespread devastation.
“We originally were flying Monday morning out of Augusta and then obviously everyone has seen the news with all the flooding and the hurricane through all the southeast,” List shared in his press conference ahead of the Sanderson Farms. “On my level I feel for all the people in Florida and South Carolina and North Carolina but directly the people of the CSRA in Augusta where I live, it’s pretty devastating really to not only see it but experience it, a place you call home. It’s really sad.”
List then detailed his experience during the hurricane, including trying to protect his young children while the powerful storm rolled through their town.
When it was all over, List was forced to team up with neighbors to remove trees from their street just so they could leave the neighborhood.
“It was wild. Just keeping [the children] safe through the storm, then waking up in the early hours and coming out when the sun was out, to see the devastation and the destruction directly on your own home and your neighbors’ homes,” List explained. “My neighbors and I cut five massive trees just so we could get out of the street. That’s humbling in its own right, just tugging trees. My neighbor had a jeep, and we were pulling big logs from the trees off the road and just doing the best we could to band together and getting a tree off a neighbor’s yard, and that’s everybody. Everyone is dealing with that in their own right.”
He continued, “In a sense it was great to see everybody come together, but in a sense it almost felt like that’s what you have to do in that moment.”
After surveying the damage, List made the decision to get his family out of town, fearing that it would be a long time before power was restored, which proved to be a good decision.
“We’re very fortunate to have been able to get out when we did. I think it came to the clear conclusion that we’re not going to have power or water for a while, which they still don’t, so just to get the family out and safe and comfortable was something I thought was important,” List said on Tuesday.
List also shared that he and fellow Tour pro Henrik Norlander, who also lives in Augusta and drove from there to Jackson for the Sanderson Farms Championship, decided to join forces to raise money for the Red Cross at this week’s tournament to help with recovery efforts.
“Henrik Norlander and I, we call that home there, we’re going to be doing a Birdies for Augusta. We’re going to donate $500 per birdie of our own golf to the Red Cross there,” List shared. “Hopefully we can get some more support locally and then from all over. I encourage anyone to donate to the Red Cross because the areas definitely need it.”
The idea was spawned during a family dinner together when they both arrived in Jackson.
“We had dinner last night with our families, and we just kind of came up with it together. I think it was something we both had in our hearts that we wanted to help support in Augusta, and this is the best way we know how right now,” List explained. “I think we were on the same page as far as we need to give back in any way we can. Obviously there’s a lot of people that are in privileged positions to give back, and I feel like that’s always kind of called upon in that, especially in hard times like that.”
Elsewhere in Augusta, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley shared Thursday that the iconic course suffered “a lot of damage,” but assured everyone that it would be repaired and ready to go for the 2025 Masters next April.
In an interview with Golf Digest, Ridley said, “We’ve been able to take care of our employees, but we’ve also been focused on what the Red Cross and other organizations are doing in Augusta, and our employees really have been a big part of that, which I think really speaks for them and the culture at the club.”
If you would like to join List and Norlander in helping with the hurricane relief efforts, you can donate to the American Red Cross here.
