Rugby League legends teamed up with corporate partners and a couple of golfing gurus to raise money for the sport’s Brain Health Fund as RL Cares hosted its biggest-ever Golf Day at the Worsley Park Marriott Country Club.
A distinguished cast list including the Lance Todd Trophy winners Joe Lydon and Robbie Hunter-Paul took to the fairways of the championship-standard course.
And even if there were more bogeys than birdies for some, the overall standard was impressive – helped by the involvement of the former European Tour professional Chris Bibby, and Gemma Hunter of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Most importantly, and thanks to the support of companies from both sides of the Pennines, thousands of pounds were raised for the Brain Health Fund which was launched by Rugby League Cares in 2023 – a timely boost ahead of Dementia Awareness Week, with the next Brain Health Clinic to be held in Wigan next month (details below).
Gemma teamed up with her partner Andrea Murray, the RFL’s National Education Manager and also team manager for the England and Wigan Warriors Women – with Stu Barrow, the England Women Head Coach, also in the RFL four-ball.
Chris, who is a Safeguarding Officer for the RFL, lent his class to the Rugby League Commercial team – who finished runners-up to the quartet from DP Publicity in Wakefield.
A fourth-placed finish at the 1998 Portugal Open made him the highest-pedigree golfer on the day, and Chris is currently preparing to represent England at the Physical Disability World Cup in Australia later this year, having been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2015 – an inspirational story.
Chris Rostron, the CEO of Rugby League Cares, said:
“We’re so grateful to everyone who supported the Golf Day, and made it such a success.
“We had a terrific range of new and existing corporate partners, and it’s great for them to be able to mix with the Rugby League personalities who attended – in the superb surroundings of the Worsley Park Country Club.
“We reckon we had four internationals in Joe, Robbie, Leon Pryce and Shaun Briscoe, who was part of a team from the Warrington Wolves Foundation.
“Leeds Rhinos Foundation also attended, with their team including our RL Cares trustee Gary Hetherington, and it was great to welcome Chris Atkin and Greg Eden from the Bradford Bulls.
“Eddie Hemmings showed some classy touches on the course as well as doing a brilliant job of hosting our post-round function – for which we were very grateful - and we were delighted to have representatives from England Women and PDRL in Stu Barrow, Andrea Murray and Chris Bibby.
"Everyone at Rugby League Cares wishes them the best of luck in their respective World Cups in Australia at the end of the year.”
For more details about the Brain Health Fund, and Rugby League's partnership with Dementia UK, click here Brain Health Clinics head for Hull with Dementia UK and RL Cares - with forthcoming clinics in Leeds and Workington, and two appointments still available for the next clinic in Wigan on June 10.