At this year’s Sony Open in Hawaii, $10,000 was last-place money for 15 golfers, including eventual major champion Keegan Bradley and Charles Howell III. They put it in their pockets and moved on to the next $5- or $6- or $9-million tournament.

About the same time, Kelsey Wo was working on graduating from Punahou and raising $10,000 for First Tee of Hawaii. That money helped more than 100 kids, mostly from Palama Settlement, Mayor Wright housing and the military, attend First Tee’s programs and summer camps.

"She certainly made a difference in their lives," says Ken Zitz, Hawaii’s First Tee director.

Now Wo is majoring in business administration at USC’s Marshall School of Business. The former Buffanblu golfer has gone from studying and asking family, friends and corporations for help with First Tee to studying and pledging for a business fraternity and helping with a care package drive for soldiers.

Wo has been a Luke Leader, with Punahou’s Luke Center for Public Service, since fifth grade. Inspired by the school’s CapSeeds Class, a required senior course that asks students to create a project that integrates what they learned through community service and economics, she dreamed large — $10,000 large.

Wo picked First Tee at the suggestion of a coach who is involved with the program. First Tee Hawaii currently has 700 kids at 10 sites on Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Hawaii island, with Kauai planned for 2012.

The program’s goal is to "promote character development and life-enhancingvalues through golf." It features "nine core values," such as integrity, perseverance and respect.

Wo, who started golfing at 13, went through the program and volunteered on Sundays for two years. Her drive to raise $10,000 was actually her "final exam" for the CapSeeds class, and a learning experience unlike any other.

She developed a video of her First Tee community service experience and used it to educate the folks she was asking for donations. Apparently, she was very convincing.

She knew $10,000 was "a lofty goal," but "I decided that I wanted to raise an amount that could help as many children as possible."

"I told Mr. Zitz that I wanted the money to be used to help underprivileged children," Wo said. "When Mr. Zitz started The First Tee at Palama Settlement, I visited the program. It was really nice to see so many children being introduced to golf and being given the opportunity to learn important life skills that are taught through the game of golf."

Her game is on sabbatical while she is in college. Wo, who graduated with honors from Punahou, eventually plans to go to graduate school in business administration.

Chances are, she won’t ever make $10,000 for playing a few rounds of golf. That doesn’t bother her at all.

Anyone interested in volunteering for First Tee can contact Zitz at 478-3466 or kwz711@hawaii.rr.com. The website is thefirstteehawaii.org.