March 24 -- With the right team, anything's possible.

The phrase, which resonates as well in business as it does in sports, serves as the slogan of RSM McGladrey, title sponsor of The PGA McGladrey Team Championship.

For PGA Professional Karl Kimball, director of golf at Hillandale Golf Course in Durham, N.C., the phrase could just as easily be converted to "With golf, anything's possible."

Henrique Hannad poses with PGA Professional Karl Kimball. (photo: PGA of America)

Kimball, 50, the vice president of the Carolinas PGA Section, is one of six regional "ambassadors" who are promoting The PGA McGladrey Team Championship. This year's Local Qualifying Events run through September. Forty-one Section Championships follow from April through September, with a 164-player field assembling at the National Championship, Oct. 20-22, at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort.

Kimball has taken team-building to a new level at Hillandale Golf Course, adding a new wrinkle to the Local Qualifying Event. It involves giving back to someone who already has touched the lives of many at his club.

Henrique Hannud, an eight-year-old from Brazil is a youngster who happens to love golf while carrying what Kimball calls "a $3 million smile." When Henrique first arrived at the Hillandale Golf Course in January accompanied by his father, Juliano, Kimball knew the little boy was special.

What he also learned was that Henrique was facing a crucial period of treatment for leukemia. Juliano was prepared to buy a set of clubs and bag for his son, but Kimball had another idea.

"I hung the bag and club on the wall in our golf shop," said Kimball. "I told Henrique that if you ever par or birdie a hole on this course, I will give you those clubs and bag.

"It must have been a day or so after I did that when I got a call from Henrique. He played the 10th hole and parred the hole." Kimball had his staff fit the clubs to Henrique, who last played the course on Feb. 26. Kimball also said that his staff stepped up and paid for the golf equipment.

On March 4, Henrique was in Duke University Medical Center receiving a pair of bone marrow transplant infusions over a span of 3½ hours. This was the second transplant for Henrique, after a bone marrow donation from his brother was unsuccessful.

Kimball plans to set up a donation for Henrique in addition to registration fees at the PGA McGladrey Local Qualifying Event. He also is planning several contests for charity and will invite staff at Duke University Medical Center to distribute fliers about the treatment for those suffering from leukemia.

"Our club is just 2½ minutes north of Duke University Medical Center," said Kimball. "We've had a lot of people play our course who have had loved ones treated at the center. For Henrique, his father Juliano, and his mother, Luciana, golf has been a great support for them.

"Did you know that Henrique played golf on our course with chemo lines coming out of his chest? Well, he did. He has a message for everybody. He does it with a smile. If I could be half the man that he is and what he is going through. . . You know leukemia not only hits one person, it affects the whole family. They live with it."

Kimball delivered a putting mat and putter to Henrique's hospital room, just to ensure that the youngster keeps his short game in form. Kimball said that Henrique practiced putting five hours one day.

Kimball is the father of two sons, including an eight-year old. Henrique, he said, is "like another son to me."

Kimball said The PGA McGladrey Team Championship is a "win-win" situation for both amateurs and the PGA Professional. At Hillandale Golf Course, this year's Local Qualifying Event will do more than connect amateurs and a PGA Professional for a fun golf experience.

It also serves as a connector, in a special way, between amateur golfers and a little boy who is enduring so much.

To register for a Local Qualifying Event, visit PGA.com/teamchampionship.

The PGA McGladrey Team Championship is the result of a partnership between The PGA of America and RSM McGladrey, the Official Accounting, Tax and Business Consulting firm of The PGA of America. RSM McGladrey is the fifth largest accounting, tax and business consulting firm in the country when considered with McGladrey & Pullen LLP (a partner-owned CPA firm).