Cancer Society’s Longest Day campaign by playing double the amount of holes required.

Pleasant Point Golf Club member Blair Struthers has raised almost eleven thousand dollars for the Cancer Society’s Longest Day campaign by playing double the amount of holes required.

The Longest Day is the Cancer Society’s fundraising campaign where golfers can challenge their skill and stamina over four rounds of golf [72-holes] in one day to raise money for the Cancer Society.

So far, Struthers has raised a whopping $10,933 and still has a few people he needs to chase up.

He set a target of playing a hundred holes, 28 more holes than he was required to play before the day. On the 17th of December, he teed off his opening round at 5.30 am, and by 2 pm, he had already achieved his goal.

Struthers, whose handicap is one, decided he’d keep going in front of the many people who were out in torrential rain supporting him in an effort to raise some more money.

He says the support was overwhelming.

“I’m really stoked! I still have a couple of people I need to chase up too, and hopefully I can get to 11 thousand dollars raised. It’s still way more than I thought I was going to raise, so people must have really appreciated my efforts,” Struthers explains.

The rain was plummeting down for the majority of the day, making the task a little more challenging. Funnily enough, it wasn’t the number of holes he played that hurt him; it was the weather.

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“The body was actually pretty good. The worst thing I had were blisters on my feet, which hindered me the most. I had to take the shoes off after the third round, and I was off after that.

“The weather was pretty bad for most of the day, but the first couple of rounds were the worst. The course was completely water-logged, and I had to use my wedge on the greens because I wasn’t able to putt as there was too much water.

“I did have to stretch the legs out a bit too. There were a few holes in the middle of the day where I was stepping in a few puddles, and I started to cramp up a bit. Getting into a bit of a run helped me stretch them out a bit which helped.

“It was funny because I started the day in torrential rain and ended the day in a thunderstorm. The chips were stacked a little against me, but I just kept going. I was keen to do it, so I was going to finish no matter what.”

He says his competitive nature was the reason he wanted to play more than the campaign required and hoped that playing over a hundred holes would help get people talking about cancer more. He also has family and friends who’ve been affected by cancer, and this was his way of giving back.

Struthers says the support he had throughout the day was outstanding. He had family, friends, members, and even locals who had heard what he was doing out supporting him the entire day.

“My best mate was with me pulling the bag for about six hours. We started at about 5.30 in the morning, and he left me to go to work at lunchtime at 11.30. That was pretty awesome.

“And throughout the rest of the day, other people came and went and helped out. Throughout the whole day, I only played about six-holes by myself,” he says.

He averaged three-over-par over the eight rounds and was more than happy with how he played, given the weather conditions.

His contribution to the cause is hugely appreciated by the Cancer Society.

The Cancer Society’s spokesperson Arron Peacock says he thought playing 72-holes was hard, but playing 144 is a mammoth effort.

“It is no exaggeration to say all of us at the Cancer Society are in awe of Blair – to complete 144 holes in one day during the Longest Day Golf Challenge is beyond remarkable.

“Aside from admiring this tremendous accomplishment, we are also immensely grateful for Blair’s incredible fundraising efforts. It is this type of determination and generosity that enables the Cancer Society to provide vital services to ensure no one goes through cancer alone like safe transport to and from treatment, counselling support, and accommodation.

“In addition, funds raised by the 592 golfers who took part in the Longest Day Golf Challenge will allow us to fund research into better treatments and ultimately better outcomes for the thousands of New Zealanders who are affected by cancer every year.”