Tag: Rafita Calderon

Happy ending: How Joaquin Niemann raised more than $2 million to save his infant relative’s life

The 22-year-old Chilean helped raise money so his infant cousin to afford medical treatment.

Joaquin Niemann notched the biggest victory of his young career, and it had nothing to do with his golf clubs.

On Wednesday, Niemann, 22, shared the good news that enough money — more than $2.1 million — was raised through his various efforts so that his cousin, Rafita Calderon, could receive treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a rare genetic disease that affects about one in every 10,000 babies born every year.

“It’s been amazing the last couple days,” Niemann said on Wednesday ahead of the Genesis Invitational near Los Angeles. “It was amazing to see like the whole Tour, like all the people that supported me, all the companies, it was amazing. We raised so much money in such a short period, it gives us a lot of faith for Rafita.”

Calderon’s father, Felipe, flew to the U.S. to purchase the medicine and brought it back to Chile. Niemann’s cousin is at a medical center in Santiago, five hours from where the family lives, but Niemann said his condition has improved since receiving a one-time injection of Zolgensma, a gene therapy drug,  a few days ago.

“Right now he’s doing great,” he said. “They sent me some pictures a couple days ago and he looks stronger, he looks happy.”

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Back at the RSM Classic in November, Niemann broke into tears speaking about how his then one-month-old cousin was battling for his life, desperately needing Zolgensma, a drug which according to Niemann costs $2.1 million. When Niemann learned of the tough hand dealt to his young relative, he said, “I was in my mind going crazy, ‘What can I do to help out?’ ”

He set up a Go Fund Me page and pledged $5,000 for every birdie and $10,000 for every eagle in addition to his earnings from that week, which totaled $152,450. He also donated his winnings from the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December, good for another $65,262.85. Niemann nearly won the Sentry Tournament of Champions, losing in a playoff to Harris English, but netting another $782,000, and tied for second a week later at the Sony Open of Hawaii, cashing in for $587,400. (Niemann never stated publicly whether he donated those paychecks to his cousin’s cause.)

Niemann, who is scheduled to tee it up this week at the Genesis Invitational, went home to Chile to see his family and friends in January and has skipped the last four events. Of his initial conversation with his cousin Felipe, Rafita’s father, he said, “He was really negative, like why (does) this happen to me, you know, just being negative. And I was trying to push him to be more positive and I get to help him here in the states, because in Chile, it was really hard to get the $2 million and for me being here getting more connections, you know, social media, all this stuff helps. It was beautiful.”

Beautiful, indeed, and the best news we’ve heard all week.

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Joaquin Niemann, who is donating his prize money this week to his relative in need, opens Mayakoba with a 66

The 22-year-old Chilean opens the Mayakoba with a 66 as he eyes a big payday to help pay the medical expenses of an infant relative in need.

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Salvemos, Rafita, translates to “save, Rafita.” That hashtag is the mission this week for 22-year-old Chilean golfer Joaquin Niemann, who has promised to donate his winnings at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, to help pay for the medical needs of his young relative.

It could be a big check if Niemann can maintain his early pace. He made an eagle and three birdies on his second nine to shoot 5-under 66 at El Camaleon Golf Club on a windy, rainy day on the Yucatan Peninsula to share the early lead in the opening round with Argentine Emiliano Grillo at the PGA Tour’s final official event of the calendar year.

A few days after Niemann’s one-month-old cousin, Rafita Calderon, was born, his Aunt Carola, who is a pediatrician, observed that the baby displayed symptoms of hypotonia. Tests revealed that Calderon suffered from Type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which affects about 1 in every 10,000 babies born every year. Symptoms include weak muscle tone, trouble breathing and swallowing, and those diagnosed with the rare genetic disease have a life expectancy of two years. Calderon is battling for his life, desperately needing a one-time injection of Zolgensma, a drug which according to Niemann costs $2.1 million in his home country. Calderon is at a medical center in Santiago, Chile, five hours from where the family lives awaiting treatment.

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Niemann posted an Instagram story in support of his young relative and created a Go Fund Me page that already has raised more than $120,000. At the RSM Classic two weeks ago, Niemann promised to contribute $5,000 for every birdie and $10,000 for every eagle in addition to his earnings, which totaled $152,450. This week, Niemann is wearing a ribbon on the top of his hat to raise awareness of Rafita’s plight, and he isn’t alone.

MAYAKOBA: Scores | Photo gallery

“I’ve got a bag with a lot of them, so yeah, just put it on the first tee and the locker and the 10th tee so (players) can grab it,” Niemann said. “Having all the support from all the people here on Tour is really amazing, and also from Mexico. The tournament, they’re helping me a lot to tell a little bit more of the story of Rafita, so happy for all the support of the players. We’re fighting for him.”

Niemann, 22, became the first Chilean to win on the PGA Tour at the 2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier and represented his country as a member of the International team at the 2019 Presidents Cup.

Grillo, 28, also is seeking his second career Tour title and first since 2015. Playing in his trademark aggressive style, Grillo rattled off four birdies in a row beginning at the fifth and drained a 20-foot par putt at his final hole of the day to shoot 66 and extend his streak of par-or-better rounds in the event to a perfect 17-for-17.

Mayakoba Golf Classic Joaquin Niemann
Joaquin Niemann lines up a putt on the tenth green during the first round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleón Golf Club on December 03, 2020 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

“There is not a flag stick, you could put it behind a tree, he will find it,” said PGA Tour Radio commentator Dennis Paulson of Grillo. “He is not afraid. He is the Lanny Wadkins of his generation.”

American Rickie Fowler, who is winless this year, carded eight birdies but also a quadruple-bogey 8 en route to shooting 1-under 70. World No. 3 Justin Thomas struggled to shoot 1-over 72.

Niemann got off to a sluggish start, too, offsetting an early bogey with a bounce-back birdie on his first nine, the back nine, before going on a 5-under tear over the course of five holes beginning at No. 3. He drilled a 7-wood to reach the par-5 seventh in two and rolled in the putt for eagle. Niemann, the 45th-ranked player in the world, did most of his damage on the three par 5 holes, which he played in 4 under. After the round, he reiterated his social media post that he’s playing for something bigger than himself this week.

“It’s always extra motivation trying to play for him,” Niemann said of Rafita, “and get some more money for him, so yeah, it’s special.”

And Niemann didn’t need to be told what a first prize of $1,296,000 this week would do to help efforts to get his relative the medical attention he needs.

“It would be nice to see,” Niemann said.

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Joaquin Niemann commits prize money to help ailing cousin

The Chilean committed to donate his prize money to help offset the medical bills of his cousin, who is battling for her life.

SAINT SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Joaquin Niemann missed the Masters last week after testing positive for COVID-19. It sounds like a horrible twist of fate until you consider that the 22-year-old Chilean is dealing with graver medical concerns.

Niemann’s one-month-old cousin, Rafita Calderon, was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a rare genetic disease that affects about one in every 10,000 babies born every year. Calderon is battling for his life, desperately needing a one-time injection of Zolgensma, a drug which according to Niemann costs $2.1 million.

Calderon is at a medical center in Santiago, five hours from where the family lives, awaiting treatment.

“When they told me that [Rafita] is going to have like a really bad disease I didn’t realize what it was, like I didn’t put like much attention on it,” Niemann said of the disease that is the No. 1 genetic cause of infant death. “Then a couple days go on, they tell us the bad news, that this medicine was this much amount of money … I was in my mind going crazy, ‘what can I do to help out?'”

In an Instagram post this week, Niemann committed to donate all of his earnings for the RSM Classic and the Mayakoba Classic to help fund the expensive medical bills for Rafita. Niemann also promised to contribute $5,000 for every birdie and $10,000 for every eagle. Entering Sunday’s final round, he had already made 15 birdies, adding $90,000 to his donation.

“This week I am playing for something bigger,” Niemann posted. “You may have seen me post about Rafita, a 20-day old baby that is battling for his life fighting a rare disease called SMA. Spinal Muscular Atrophy symptoms are often seen when babies are first born. They have weak muscle tone and trouble breathing, eating and swallowing. Unfortunately, the only cure is $2.1 million (USD). I will be donating all of my earnings this week and next to help save his life, as well as pledging $10,000 for every eagle, $5,000 for every birdie.”

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“I found that I could do like a big help here in the U.S. because being here on the Tour, there’s a lot of people that is really interested in this kind of stuff,” he said after the third round of the RSM Classic. “If I’m able to help, it would be amazing, it would be a dream for me come true.”

Niemann said he grew up playing with Rafita’s father, Felipe, 33, who is first cousin to Niemann’s mother.

“Just thinking about him, I love him and his family, they’re really nice,” Niemann said. “And he’s said things like, ‘this happens,’ so I think it’s kind of like a mission that for me to help out for them.”

So far, the GoFundMe has raised just over $42,000 in its goal of funding the procedure. You can donate to the cause through the GoFundMe here.

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