Mark gets stuck into charity fundraising

A PGA pro, inspired by a friend struck down by leukaemia, has pushed his body to the limit to help raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Mark McGeehan from Magnolia Park in Buckinghamshire has ploughed through mud and obstacles in a 10K Wolf Run, taken part in a half-marathon and competed in Macmillan Cancer Support’s 72-hole Longest Day Golf Challenge.

And as part of the latter, he and friends Mike Baxter, Ben Hellings and Jason Farr have reached the grand final of the Longest Day Golf Challenge in Portugal having raised more than £8K for the charity.

The quartet played four rounds of golf at Cherwell Edge, Oxford City, Magnolia Park and Studley Wood golf clubs – starting at 4.15am and finishing at 9.40pm.

They beat competition from more than 2,000 teams to reach the grand final which takes place at Boavista Resort in the western Algarve from October 16-18.

“Jason (below left) is a good friend of mine who had leukaemia and he did the 72-holes with us and fortunately has also beaten his cancer,” said McGeehan who runs his own golf academy at Magnolia Park and is also a consultant for Core Health and Wellness in Hatton.

“It’s hugely rewarding to be able to raise money for the Macmillan charity, and to give back something to those who are more in need.

“Many PGA pros do so much for charity across the country and I feel quite humbled by the experience and now we’ve got the grand final to look forward.

“It’s also been really good for my fitness, because at 37 I’ve never been fitter and I’m still chasing the dream of playing on tour.”

Another PGA pro Stuart Collier, from Stoke Park, has also reached the 72-hole Longest Day Challenge grand final.

McGeehan’s other charity efforts over the summer included raising money for the Children Are Butterflies charity which supports bereaved parents who’ve lost a child.

He raised money by running the Wolf Run at Cubbington which is a combination of mud runs, trail and obstacle runs.