
WHITLEY Golf Club recently held a marathon match to raise money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Cancer Research UK.
Club captain Kevin Mallan and junior captain Tom Beckenham completed their marathon match at 10am on Saturday after playing 26 hours of golf. So far, they have raised around £800 but donations are still coming in.
Unfortunately, the weather was not on their side for their challenge. From start to finish, it poured with rain, resulting in two very wet golfers.
Kevin said, “The weather was horrendous, we got soaked. We played through the night with the help of solar lights and illuminated golf balls. We played 114 holes which amounts to eight rounds of golf which was very tough, especially in the conditions.
“We reached the 24 hour mark and were ready to finish, but we really wanted to beat last year’s time so we kept going for another two hours. We were shattered!
“The rain made it very difficult for us but we were doing it for charity so we battled through. We wanted to raise as much money as possible.”
This year, the money is being donated to Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Cancer Research charities. Kevin said, “Raising the money is really important to us. The golf club have been fundraising all year, we recently held a captain’s day which raised £1,500. We will split all the money at the end of the year and give it to the charities.
“A big thank you to everyone that braved the weather to come and support us, in particular Whitely Golf Club. They were brilliant.”