Teams of male and female golfers came together at Little Aston Golf Club last week to compete in the inaugural Prostate Cancer UK Mixed Pairs Invitational.
The new event celebrated some of the charity’s female fundraisers and highlighted the role that women play in supporting men who are impacted by the most common cancer in men. It also marked the launch of the Mixed Pairs format as part of the impressive programme of golf events that Prostate Cancer UK supports.
Teams from the media, industry, existing supporters and future fundraisers all took to the fairways to compete in a Mixed Pairs stableford better ball. The winners were Angela and Matthew Harrison from Walmley Golf Club, scoring an impressive score of 46, with Jilly Cosgrove and Ant Fawcett coming in a point behind. Prizes for the winners were provided by women’s apparel specialist Famara and rangefinder brand Bushnell, with BIG MAX awarding bags for the runners up.
“This has been a truly inspiring day to be part of,” commented winner Angela Harrison. “Through the day we’ve heard incredible stories of men and women supporting each other through a prostate cancer diagnosis, which has made the mixed pair format feel very special. Prostate cancer touches many families, including our own, and today has inspired all the attendees to work together in golf clubs around the country to support this fantastic cause.”
The new format will be rolled out to golf clubs across the country later this year, forming a new part of an already significant golf programme from Prostate Cancer UK. In the last ten years, £6 million has been raised through the charity’s tailored support for golf club captains, golfers wishing to hold golf days and more recently through The Big Golf Race, the charity’s flagship golf fundraiser that asks golfers to play 36, 72 or 100+ holes in day and has raised over £3.4m since 2020.
Seren Evans, Head of Community and Events Fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “This new event format will further boost Prostate Cancer UK’s presence in the golf community; golf club members and societies want to come together to raise awareness of prostate cancer risk and raise funds to aid research to find better tests and treatments to save men’s lives.
“A mixed event is the perfect way to engage the whole golf community, and it was fantastic to see so many golfers supporting us at our inaugural event at Little Aston. We thank everyone involved, and hope this will kick-start a movement of more mixed events in support of Prostate Cancer UK in the future.”
Golfers wishing to set up their own Mixed Pairs event to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK in 2025 can expect expert support from the charity’s golfing team, including a golf fundraising pack including golf balls, tees, health information and branded merchandise as well as tailored support and advice on the best practise ways to set up and organise the events.
For more details visit prostatecanceruk.org/golf or email golf@prostatecanceruk.org
