8-year-old P.E.I. boy awaiting heart transplant gets offer of a lifetime to attend the Masters
CBC
For most fans of professional golf, the odds of getting a chance to attend the PGA Tour's most prestigious tournament are akin to winning the lottery.
But if all goes well, one very special kid from Prince Edward Island may be attending the Masters this time next year.
Eight-year-old Maverick Bishop is currently living with his mom and baby sister in Toronto as he awaits a donor heart for a transplant.
Maverick has been through some trying times in his young life, but he hasn't let that dampen his love of sports, golf included.
"From the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed, if he can have a ping-pong paddle in his hand or a tennis racket… he just loves sports," his father, Woody Bishop, told Mainstreet P.E.I. host Steve Bruce.
"Golf is one of those sports that he can do, because he gets tired very easily. You can ride in a cart right to your ball… without a lot of limitations."
The Masters, held each year at Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia, is one of the PGA Tour's four major championships. It's widely considered one of the most difficult professional golf tournaments to win.
Maverick's dad, who's also the general manager at Glasgow Hills golf course in New Glasgow, P.E.I., knows first-hand how difficult it is to get to watch the tournament in person.
Fans have to put their names into a draw for tickets to the event each year. The club doesn't disclose how many people apply or how many passes are awarded, but it's estimated that the odds of having your name drawn for a single-day ticket are around 0.55 per cent.
Bishop has applied for years and never had any luck — that is, until he won an unofficial lottery last week.
While scrolling social media one night, he saw a post by An Byeong-hun, a 33-year-old South Korean golfer better known as Ben An, who's currently ranked 35th on the PGA Tour and is in the 2025 Masters tournament this week.
"I have two weekly tickets left for the Masters. Like this tweet and comment your favorite golfer. I'll announce two winners in exactly an hour from now. Good luck," An posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Bishop quickly replied with a picture of his favourite golfer, his son Maverick. Then he went to sleep.
"I woke up in the morning [and] my phone had 254 notifications on it," he said.
Police services across northern Ontario say most illicit drugs circulating in their communities are being transported from southern parts of the province, while prescription drugs diverted into the illegal market continue to pose a serious and ongoing threat.
The case of a child who was killed by his mother shortly after being returned from foster care has shed a rare and needed spotlight on the child welfare system, say experts in the field.
G.E. Barbour may be best known for its King Cole tea, but the Sussex company’s peanut butter is apparently what everyone wants overseas.
Seven years into an early onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Sandra Demontigny's home is full of reminders.
A blizzard gusting across southern Manitoba is leaving a long list of highway and school closures.
While a blizzard threatened outside, Saskatoon city council endured an icy blast inside city hall from a Riversdale business leader over its homeless initiatives.
This is a story about fire, faith and marshmallows.
Alberta’s population bucked the trend that almost every other Canadian province and territory experienced last quarter, Statistics Canada population estimates suggest.
A U.S. judge on Wednesday blocked Michigan from enforcing a 2020 order to shut down Enbridge's Line 5 oil pipeline running beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes, ruling that pipeline safety is a federal responsibility.
When retired RCMP constable Jason Hydamacka heard the news that the insurance money for his amputated leg was coming, he sat in his truck and cried.
As Neskantaga First Nation’s youngest band councillor, Lashaunda Waswa says she wants to inspire the next generation to protect the community’s land, water and wildlife.
Toronto has seen a drop in crime rates across the city, but its police chief says youth crime rates continue to be a cause for concern.
Cambridge council has voted to request a pedestrian safety review of Cedar Street from the region after two back-to-back collisions last week, one of which killed a three-year-old girl.