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Golfers aid oil spill relief

New York - Australia's Greg Norman, Fiji's Vijay Singh and American David Duval - all former world number ones - are joining with the PGA Tour in a "Golfers for the Gulf" bid to help the Gulf of Mexico.

The stars are backing the move to help endangered wildlife in ecologically damaged marshes as a result of the spill resulting from the explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April.

"Thankfully, the leak has been stopped, but the threat to wildlife will continue for quite some time," Norman said.

Together with the New York firm Falconhead Capital, the group has bought a specially equipped skiff called a Shallow Water Attention Terminal (SWAT) from Florida's Dragonfly Boatworks.

The craft will enter the gulf marshes and rescue at-risk wildlife, using cooling and rinse systems to remove oil and GPS tracking systems for research, as well as monitor and test the condition of areas where the spill has reached.

"These boats are ideally suited to reach animals and birds in those remote marshes and their ability to help biologists monitor the wildlife situation and other ecological stresses on an ongoing basis is also invaluable," Norman said.

The skiff is being donated to the Southeastern Wildlife Conservation Group (SWCG), a non-profit group whose mission is to protect the gulf's wildlife and wetlands areas.

"The SWCG will be forever grateful to the "Golfers for the Gulf" group for their generosity," group president Mark Langer said.
 
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