Longest Day Golf Challenge raises over £1,500 for Macmillan

A full 24 hours of golf at Rochdale Golf Club has raised over £1,500 for Macmillan.

George Genesis, Jack Green, Dom McDonnell and Dani Ruuthonen teed off at 5am on Sunday 25 June for the Macmillan 24-hour challenge, which asks fundraisers to play 72 holes in one day as close to the longest day of the year (21 June) as possible.

By 11.45am, the men had completed two full 18-round holes with a quick pit stop to fuel up before carrying on to the third and fourth rounds.

Despite torrential rain and strong winds almost making it impossible to swing a club, the four pressed on before finishing at 6pm.

By the end of the day, the four cold and wet golfers had covered just over 30km and raised £1,490. Currently, the donations stand at £1,540.

 

 

George, who works as a support manager at Rochdale Infirmary, said: “The lads and I sat down and together we wanted to do this to raise some money for a really important charity.

“Cancer affects everyone, and Macmillan offers support to all who need help at all stages of treatment. We are so grateful and thankful for all the support and donations from everyone and even though the challenge has finished, the donation page is still open so if anyone would like to give us a donation of any size, we would so much appreciate it.

“We have exceeded the figure we had in mind so anything is possible now: hopefully we will make this an annual challenge that more people can join in.”

To raise even more funds, George’s stepmother, Hilary, has been busy carrying out charity bakes to top up the monies raised.

 

 

George’s dad, also called George, added: “They had everything thrown at them: biting rain and the most horrendous winds not only battering them but also their equipment and making it nigh on impossible to swing a club.

“It made us mere mortals look on from the warmth of the club house and gave us time to reflect on these young lads’ amazing determination and the cause they are doing it for.

“I am a very proud parent and proud of the other lads for not only doing this but also raising money and awareness of a great charity.

“A shout out to Rochdale Golf Club who really got behind the lads, a shout out to my wife Hilary who rushed back from the Peak District to make the lads sandwiches and provide drinks, and finally to all who have donated to this fabulous cause.”

Donations can be made via the Macmillan website until August:

• https://longestdaygolf.macmillan.org.uk/Team/losbravos