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Luca Calanni's father honors son by playing in Wanakah Country Club's annual golf marathon

This year's event at will benefit the Live Like Luca Foundation and Roswell Park's Courage of Carly Fund

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Playing one hundred holes of golf and walking the course amounts to about 25 to 35 miles of walking, not to mention all those swings. Sixteen golfers will put their bodies on the line at Wanakah Country Club on Thursday to raise money for causes close to their hearts.

It's a tradition five years strong. Each summer, several club members spend an entire day, from sun up to sun down logging one hundred holes. This year, they're collecting donations for the Courage of Carly's Club Fund at Roswell Park, as well as Live Like Luca, the Luca S. Calanni Foundation.

"This year, the fundraising is going even better. We've got 16 golfers rather than ten from last year, so we've already surpassed the fundraising that we've had from last year. Just keeps going up it seems," said the event's founder, Simon Bennett. "When you think about the year that everybody's having, it's remarkable that we're able to raise even more money for two great causes now."

Luca Calanni was the 11-year-old boy from Hamburg who passed away following complications from the flu in January. Luca's dad, Roger, is one of the golfers participating in this year's event. 

Roger had already committed to playing last November. That was before his family could have ever imagined the personal tragedy they would go through in January with the loss of their son. Luca was a big golfer himself, and Wanakah is his family's home course. The foundation his family launched in his memory has a mission of creating opportunities for children to participate and sports and education activities. Roger, his wife Ashley, and their family say they're overwhelmed with the support they've received from the community getting the charity off the ground in just a few short months. 

"In all honesty, we expected after a year or two to have a few thousand dollars to be able to give some small scholarships at Frontier or St. Francis, our local high schools," Roger told 2 On Your Side. "So we're thinking we'd be able to do things like that. Never in our wildest imagination did we think this community would support it like they have." 

To make a donation to the 100 Holes of Golf fundraiser, click here

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