The world’s best golfers made hay while the sun shone at Fota Island today, with a glut of birdies in round one and the early stages of round two ensuring that the official Irish Open charity benefitted to the tune of almost €9000.
With 523 birdies and two eagles being recorded, Mercy Hospital Foundation in Cork were able to see the rewards in the form of €7905 being raised through the Birdie Pledge initiative, with €10, €20 and €50 donated from the Tour Players Foundation (TPF), the charitable arm of the European Tour, and €5, €10, and €25 contributed by Official Supplier, Barry’s Tea, for every birdie, eagle and albatross made during the four rounds of the tournament.
A further €1000 donation was made from BAM Construction – one of the tournament Official Sponsors – lifting the total to €8905.
Additionally, €1,297 was raised through the sale of programmes and draw sheets on the opening day as spectators make their contribution to the fund raising throughout the week.
All funds will go directly to Mercy Hospital’s Kids + Teens Appeal, which is already €12,000 in credit thanks to all 48 professionals competing in Wednesday’s Pro-Am donating their appearance fee to the charity.
The Kids + Teens Appeal seeks to raise €100,000 for crucial areas of the Mercy Hospital’s paediatric services and Micheal Sheridan, CEO of the Mercy Hospital Foundation, said: “We are grateful to the players for their initial donation of the Pro-Am appearance fees, and now they are also helping us greatly by their performance on the golf course, making over 500 birdies with the second round just under way. Let’s hope the fine weather continues and the players keep shooting low scores!”
