Meet Emma Grace

Not many 6-year-olds have an in-depth knowledge of golf, but Emma had been raised on it by her father, Calvin. Emma knew all the golfers by name, but Dustin Johnson was her favorite. Emma and Johnson are related, albeit distantly, and even though she had never met him in person, it was fun to watch him on TV and root for his success. Little did she know that Johnson would soon root for her, too.
  
Just after Emma’s third birthday in 2008, she developed a fever that lasted a few days. When Emma turned pale and began developing purple bruises, her parents knew something was wrong. She was soon sent to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
 
At St. Jude, Emma was found to be suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common form of cancer in children. Emma began an intensive St. Jude treatment protocol that lasted almost two years. She received daily oral chemotherapy, as well as weekly intravenous and monthly spinal chemotherapies. Within the walls of St. Jude, Emma blossomed. She became a confident, funny child, an inquisitive chatterbox. Today, she is cancer free.

Emma was finally able to meet her distant cousin at the 2012 FedEx St. Jude Classic Golf Tournament. Calvin introduced the two, and Johnson was surprised to learn they were related. For years, Johnson had heard of the little girl in his family who’d been battling cancer, but they had never met in person. That day, Emma and Johnson walked the length of the eleventh hole together. They had a quiet, friendly conversation. He gave her a signed golf ball and hugged her goodbye.
“It was an awestruck sort of moment,” said Calvin.

Later that fateful week, Johnson captured his sixth PGA title and became the 2012 FedEx St. Jude Classic champion.

“It’s nice to think she might have inspired him,” said Calvin.