8-year-old P.E.I. boy awaiting heart transplant gets offer of a lifetime to attend the Masters

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 8:04 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

For astir fans of nonrecreational golf, the likelihood of getting a accidental to be the PGA Tour's astir prestigious tourney are akin to winning the lottery. 

But if each goes well, 1 precise peculiar kid from Prince Edward Island whitethorn beryllium attending the Masters this clip adjacent year. 

Eight-year-old Maverick Bishop is presently surviving with his ma and babe sister successful Toronto arsenic helium awaits a donor bosom for a transplant. 

Maverick has been done immoderate trying times successful his young life, but helium hasn't fto that dampen his emotion of sports, play included. 

"From the clip helium wakes up to the clip helium goes to bed, if helium tin person a ping-pong paddle successful his manus oregon a tennis racket… helium conscionable loves sports," his father, Woody Bishop, told Mainstreet P.E.I. big Steve Bruce. 

"Golf is 1 of those sports that helium tin do, due to the fact that helium gets bushed precise easily. You tin thrust successful a cart close to your ball… without a batch of limitations." 

The Masters, held each twelvemonth astatine Augusta National Golf Course successful Georgia, is 1 of the PGA Tour's 4 large championships. It's wide considered 1 of the astir hard nonrecreational play tournaments to win. 

Maverick's dad, who's besides the wide manager astatine Glasgow Hills play people successful New Glasgow, P.E.I., knows first-hand however hard it is to get to ticker the tourney successful person. 

Fans person to enactment their names into a gully for tickets to the lawsuit each year. The nine doesn't disclose however galore radical use oregon however galore passes are awarded, but it's estimated that the likelihood of having your sanction drawn for a single-day summons are astir 0.55 per cent. 

Bishop has applied for years and ne'er had immoderate luck — that is, until helium won an unofficial lottery past week. 

'It's affectional adjacent talking astir it'

While scrolling societal media 1 night, helium saw a station by An Byeong-hun, a 33-year-old South Korean golfer amended known arsenic Ben An, who's presently ranked 35th connected the PGA Tour and is successful the 2025 Masters tourney this week.

"I person 2 play tickets near for the Masters. Like this tweet and remark your favourite golfer. I'll denote 2 winners successful precisely an hr from now. Good luck," An posted connected X, formerly Twitter. 

Bishop rapidly replied with a representation of his favourite golfer, his lad Maverick. Then helium went to sleep. 

"I woke up successful the greeting [and] my telephone had 254 notifications connected it," helium said. 

It turned retired that An's station had been meant arsenic an April Fools' joke. But aft speechmaking Bishop's post, the golfer decided to put 2 practice-round tickets for Maverick and his dad. 

Bishop past communicated with An done backstage connection to marque definite the connection was legit. Turns out, it was. 

While Bishop was touched by the offer, the lone occupation was Maverick's quality to travel. He's been connected the transplant database since past September, and the telephone that there's a caller bosom for him could travel astatine immoderate time. 

So Bishop told An that they would person to decline. 

An said helium understood, but past extended his connection for the begetter and lad to be the Masters successful 2026, telling Bishop arsenic a motion of religion that Maverick volition request a beardown bosom to locomotion the course. 

"It's affectional adjacent talking astir it," Bishop said of the offer. "There's thing casual astir what we're going through, but erstwhile you person thing that tin assistance his spirits similar [being named] honourary manager of the Charlottetown Islanders oregon a travel to Augusta… that's immoderate beauteous large motivational things we tin usage during the pugnacious times." 

WATCH | Why this P.E.I. household is lobbying the state to fto younger radical motion up to beryllium organ donors:

But erstwhile you travel close down to it, much important than getting to watch their favourite golfers connected the greens and fairways of Augusta National close present is uncovering Maverick the cleanable heart. 

Bishop said the household volition proceed to hope that happens soon. 

"We're consenting to hold arsenic agelong arsenic we person to to get the close bosom for Maverick," helium said. "Hopefully that time volition come."