Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 9/13/16. Pat Finnegan plays golf at Lupton City Golf Club while speaking about how he will play 72 holes of golf without a cart or caddy on Thursday to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities. 
Sweat stained Pat Finnegan's red T-shirt as he tapped in a putt on the seventh green at Lupton City Golf Club on Thursday.
A little more dripped from his brow.
"That was my seventh hole on my fifth go-round," he said after stepping off the green around 1:05 p.m. with his putter in-hand. "But I feel great."
The 51-year-old Hixson man persisted in his pledge to carry his own bag for 72 holes of golf in a single day, accomplishing the feat.
Finnegan's long day on the course wasn't for his own glory, though.
He did it to raise money for the local Ronald McDonald House, which provides a home to families with sick children receiving treatment in Chattanooga.
"This is kind of embarrassing for me, that I'm going to be in the paper for it," he said during a practice round Tuesday. "But I'm glad for the publicity of the Ronald McDonald House and the charity."
Finnegan's laborious day got more attention Thursday when a local TV station caught up with him on the course.
A group of Finnegan's co-workers from T.J. Maxx, where he works as an assistant manager, also stopped by to check on him during the middle of the day as temperatures rose into the mid-90s.
"I don't know how he's doing it," Lupton City course manager James Leeth said.
"It was actually a little chilly when I got out here this morning," Finnegan said. "But the humidity kicked in by the time I got to the first green."
Finnegan said he received numerous text messages and calls from well-wishers and donors throughout his eight trips around the nine-hole course.
Among them, he said, was a customer from his previous T.J. Maxx store who he had not seen in years.
"It's just been cool to see the support, not for me," he said. "But for this awesome charity."
Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.