SWINGS IN THE NIGHT : Pair of Golfers Take Shots in the Dark to Raise $2,500 for Charity

When a professional golfer shoots even-par for the first nine holes, it’s usually right up there on the Big News Chart with a story about Tom Lasorda going back to the buffet table for seconds. Pros are supposed to shoot par or better.

Rick Pendergast, the assistant pro at the Woodland Hills Country Club, shot an even-par 35 through nine holes on Monday. But what made it just a bit different from the average round of golf was that he did it at night.

Using glowing, chemical-filled golf balls, Pendergast and club member Tom Clark played 24 consecutive hours. They began at 5 a.m. and completed 260 holes in a project they dreamed up to raise money for ChildHelp USA, a child-abuse prevention organization. They raised about $2,500, according to Clark.

“It went pretty well, but it was a long day,” Clark said. “We lost a few of the golf balls, but that was because the chemical filament would come out. We’d find the glowing filament, but the balls were long gone.

“The rounds at night were really fun. It was just a gorgeous night and we had lots of meteor showers.”

Said Pendergast: “The tee shots were fun. The ball took off like a tracer bullet. You could see this streak of green against the black sky. It was pretty wild.”