Golf tournaments typically see someone hoisting a shiny trinket at the end in recognizing the person that conquered the course above all.
But the final moments of a recent event at the Vancouver Golf Club (VGC) in Coquitlam were more impactful than any trophy presentation.
VGC's third annual Golf for Cancer fundraiser last month set a new benchmark for future tournaments, producing a record-breaking donation total of almost $22,000 for breast cancer research.
This from 88 female members of the private club on Austin Avenue that participated in the day-long event on July 11.
Tournament chairperson Mary Howcroft was thrilled to see the community at large also contribute to the cause.
"You don't realize how important it is," she said in an interview with the Tri-City News.
"A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting on the deck and this lady, one of the members, came up to me and said she has a friend who's fighting a very aggressive kind of breast cancer. She said to me, 'Mary, you just don't realize how much this tournament meant to me this year,' and she broke into tears. That's what this is all about."
Howcroft believes the key detail of the fundraiser is that the money is staying in B.C. with the provincial chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society.
"This year, Golf Canada wasn't doing [the Golf for Cancer event]; they were going to sponsor Junior Golf," she added.
"Breast cancer research is very important for women, and we felt that we needed to do this tournament because that, to us, was important."
The final number, $21,875, is seven per cent more than the $20,500 raised from the 2022 event and 34 per cent higher than the near $14,500 from the inaugural 2021 campaign.
In addition to the women members' donations, Howcroft explained more than $8,000 came from the male VGC members.
That included selling raffle and 50/50 tickets from other club events. One of the auction prizes, a new TaylorMade Stealth driver, went for $5,000.
Golf-a-Thon for ALS
This was the second major event in as many months for VGC in raising funds to fight against a deadly disease.
On June 27, six certified professionals with the Coquitlam course brought in $18,300 to help advance research efforts to find a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
Jordan Rourke and Michael Grabowski completed the PGA of BC's Golf-a-Thon, and annual marathon to see how many holes participants can play from dawn 'til dusk in a "hit-and-run" style of golf.
Three other pros joined them along the way — Shania Remandaban, Sean Thompson and Rachel Wiebe — as well as members Jay Frizzell, Bob McCusker and Grace McCusker, combining for 427 holes in over 15 hours.
