Stoke Park's Course Starter Walks Over 200 Miles With Golf Clubs For Cancer Research

With the Open Championship not far off, many people will be making their way to Royal Lytham and St. Annes. But not all of them will be walking.

Stoke Park’s Paul Simmonds will. Paul, the club’s starter, will be walking the 200+ miles over seven days to raise money for the Seve Ballasteros Foundation in aid of Cancer Research UK. If this was not task enough, he will be doing so while carrying a tour bag and full set of golf clubs.

He will walk along canal routes as he heads north, stopping for the night at various golf courses along the way. These will be Wentworth (Day One), The Oxfordshire (Day Two), Banbury (Day Three), The Belfry (Day Four), Stoke-on-Trent (Day Five), Warrington (Day Six), St Anne’s (Day Seven).

Once at the Open, Paul is the only person to have been granted access to the practice range by the PGA and will use this opportunity to have the bag signed by every player. The bag, which has been supplied by Callaway, will be auctioned after the event. Callaway will also be providing a full set of clubs to the auction winner.

Paul aims to raise £15,000 through sponsorship and the bag’s auction as well as greater awareness for the Seve Ballasteros Foundation. The foundation was set up, by the iconic golfer who gave it its name, to fund research into brain cancer. He set it up after facing “the toughest match of his life” – a collapse at Madrid airport which led to the discovery of a brain tumour. Ballesteros himself finished second at The Open Championship at the age of just 17.

Paul said: “I always saw Seve as an inspirational golfer and his bravery against cancer was even more inspirational. I really wanted to take this opportunity to support what he was doing with the foundation and raise some money for a really great cause.” Paul will arrive at Royal Lytham and St Annes late on Monday, 16^th July.

Click here for Paul’s sponsorship page.