PGA pros put on amazing display for JDRF

Defending champion Andy Raitt (St George’s Hill) shared the honours with Chris Gane (LeftHandedGolf@Silvermere), Rob Edwards (Swanmore) and Welsh raider Matthew Dearden (Cardiff) at the JDRF Pro-Am Golf Tournament at Stoke Park.

Each carded four birdies in the event which celebrated its sixth year in great style.

Winning Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance OBE hosted and played in the Pro-Am, while Sky Sports’s James Haddock played Master of Ceremonies in an evening of fun, laughter, auctions and good food, resulting in over £140,000 being raised for JDRF to invest in research to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes.

Its unique format means the PGA Professionals only earn money with birdies (£75) and eagles (£150). Raitt, Gane, Edwards and Dearden took home the lion’s share of the £15,000 Professionals’ prize fund put up by local businessman and long term supporter of The PGA, Colin Brumpton.

Played around Stoke Park’s classic and newly re-bunkered Colt-Allison layout, the four winners edged out the cards of three-under-par from Benn Barham (Pentland Golf), John Kennedy (Wexham Park), Robert Coles (Maylands), Paul Simpson (West Berks), James Hoar (Stoke Park), Paul Nessling (Cooden Beach) and Tom Fleming (Donnington Grove). 

Longball’s UK style ambassador Guy Woodman led the Bunker Mentality team to first place with 83 points, surging past the 81 points scored by JDRF’s own team led by Chris Gane and the Stoke Park fourth team led by one of the home Professionals, Chris Murtagh.

Raitt, Gane and Edwards all managed to score their birdies in similar fashion: two on the front nine and two more on the back nine. Dearden had a game of two halves, with no birdies on the front nine and all four on the way home, on the 10th, 11th, 13th and 15th.

Summing up the day on behalf of JDRF, director of fundraising Dean Benton said: "It was another terrific day and we are delighted to have raised £141,000 which will support the world’s best research into the better treatment, prevention and cure of type 1 diabetes.”

"A big thank you goes to a number of people: our headline sponsor Crisp Thinking, Lucas Rarities and IAF Capital for the hole-in-one and nearest-the-pin sponsorship, The PGA in England (South) for their fantastic organisation, Stoke Park for the stunning location and course set-up, and not least to Colin Brumpton for his wonderful support and advice as a JDRF Golf Committee member."

As one of the winners, Raitt added, “With over 400,000 people in the UK, many of them children, suffering from type 1 diabetes, we’re doing all we can to help JDRF. The course was in great condition, and once again special thanks go to Stoke Park’s director of golf and PGA Professional Stuart Collier for laying on yet another great event.”