Cancer golf day raises £16k

An invitation day at Muswell Hill Golf Club in North London has raised over £16,000 for cancer-related charities - £11,000 more than the organisers had originally targeted.

Swing for Sammy, staged in memory of Samantha Trow who recently lost her battle against cancer at the age of 26, attracted 172 players, including a dozen professionals. Organisations from the golf, travel and leisure sectors donated a bewildering array of prizes along with auction and raffle items while several other companies provided cash sponsorships of individual holes.

With offers flooding in right up to the morning of the event, 10 of the 43 four-ball teams who took part eventually walked away with a prize. In addition, several nearest-the-pin and longest-drive prizes were up for grabs.

A quartet from Hendon Golf Club, consisting of Mark Tomlinson, John Smith, Donald McLeod and John Welch, were victorious on the day with a total of 91 Stableford points, beating a team which included Muswell Hill's club champion Steve Walsom into second place by two points.

The auction, held in the clubhouse after the prizegiving ceremony, featured holiday packages, equipment and memorabilia signed by the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose and Peter Alliss.

The evening was rounded off with a talk from a representative of Cancer Research UK, which received more than £13,000 of the money raised, and a live performance from a local swing band.

Further donations of £1,000 each have been made to the Royal Marsden Hospital, where Sam, a primary school teacher at Brooklands School in Finchley, received much of her treatment, St Mark's Hospital in Harrow which specializes in detecting and treating bowel cancer, and the Hospice in the Weald at Pembury in Kent.

Ben Trow, a Finchley resident and Hendon GC member who married Sam in October 2007, said: "When we started planning this event, we thought we were being a bit ambitious saying we hoped to raise £5,000. In the end, we were stunned by the generosity of so many people and companies. All we can say is a heartfelt thanks to everyone who provided their support. Sam would have been very proud of the day's success."

By popular demand, a second Swing for Sammy golf day will be held at Muswell Hill on Friday 24 July 2009. For information about entries or to make pledges, email ptrow76780@aol.com or call 07973-862747.