Jonathan Ward, secretary of the Durham County Golf Union, completed his charity challenge on Sunday June 20 – playing one hole at each of the 44 courses in Durham in a single day to raise money for Chester-le-Street-based If U Care Share Foundation.
Starting at 5am at Ingleby Barwick, Jonathan completed his final hole at South Shields on Sunday evening at 9pm having covered 260 miles with driver John Austin (pictured above with Jonathan), parts manager at event sponsor SG Petch. Throughout the day he was cheered on by supporters at clubs across the county and to-date he has raised more than £5,000 for the charity, which promotes mental health wellbeing and supports families affected by suicide, in memory of Will Alexander, who played at Eaglescliffe and Rockliffe Hall and represented the County boys team – and David “Fez” Ferries, a long serving member of South Shields Golf Club.
Jonathan, who played the 44 holes in a respectable 18 over-par, said: “I’m over the moon to have completed the challenge. It was a tiring day, but it was a lot of fun and the day went incredibly quickly. It was amazing to see the supporters at each club cheering me on, and I can’t thank the golf club and their members enough for their support. It was great to have John with me throughout the day and the support of SG Petch was fantastic.
“There were a lot of highlights throughout the day. Having my daughters walk with me at a couple of points throughout the day was really special, as was being cheered on by some 50 people on the final hole at South Shields with Fez’s daughter Caitlin caddying for me – that was a really special and emotional moment.”
To support this year’s fundraising effort, which will include Jonathan running the Great North Run, visit www.durhamcountygolfunion.co.uk/charity
