James Driscoll’s Birdies for Boston to aid victims of Marathon bombings

James Driscoll is a Boston boy to his core. So when the PGA Tour golfer, a native of neighboring Brookline, heard about the bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday, he was pissed off and grief-stricken -- and determined to help those directly affected by the tragedy on the streets of his hometown.

“As soon as I heard about it, I immediately thought of all my friends,” Driscoll told the PGATour.com’s Doug Milne. “I had friends running it and a lot of other friends there watching it. I knew they were all going to be there on Boylston Street. Fortunately, everyone was ok.

“But, it makes you angry, emotions just flow,” he said. “I decided I wanted to do something.”

Driscoll aims, with his “Birdies for Boston” campaign, to raise funds for victims and their families, with all the money going to the One Fund Boston initiative launched by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino the day after bombs went off at the Marathon’s finish line.

The former two-time state amateur champion will donate $1,000 for each birdie he makes at this week’s RBC Heritage and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which starts next week. He has asked his PGA Tour colleagues to chip in as much as they wish.

Driscoll splits his time between Boston and Jupiter, Fla., but when he returns to his roots he lives two blocks from the site of the explosions that killed three and injured almost 200, some critically.

“Things like this unfortunately happen in the world, and you feel the pain. When it happens in America, it hits home more. But, when it happens in your community, you can’t help but feel it way more,” Driscoll said. “When I see Boylston Street all over the news, covered in yellow crime scene tape, it just really hits home.”

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