A group of kind-hearted Renfrewshire golfers have helped save lives in memory of a close friend who died from leukaemia.
Members of Cochrane Castle Golf Club raised an outstanding total of £4,529 for Cancer Research UK.
Jim Shaw helped organised a series of fundraising events during his year as club captain including a charity raffle and tournament.
He was inspired by golfing champion Barclay Howard, a much-loved former Cochrane Castle Golf Club member who won more than 100 amateur tournaments but sadly lost his life to leukaemia.
Barclay, who was just 55 when he died in May 2008, was regarded as one of the finest amateur golfers of his time, representing the club and both Scotland and Great Britain at international golfing events.
Last year marked the 25th anniversary of Barclay winning the silver medal for the low amateur at the 1997 British Open that was held at Royal Troon Golf Club.
He also played on the GB and Ireland team in the Eisenhower trophy in 1996. Today, there is a plaque at the start of Cochrane Castle Golf course, dedicating the first hole in memory of Barclay Howard.
Jim Shaw told the Paisley Daily Express: “Cancer touches so many families so we were keen to do everything in our power to support the research which will save lives.
“Barclay was a good friend to many of us at Cochrane Castle Golf Club. I also lost my own mum to cancer so I’ve seen first hand how devastating the disease can be.
“I’ve been a member of the golf club for 41 years meeting some of my best friends there and it was an honour to serve as club captain.
“I was glad to choose Cancer Research UK as our official charity during my year in office and would like to thank everyone who helped make the fundraising a success.”
Every year, around 33,900 people are diagnosed with cancer in Scotland and one in two people in the UK born after 1960 will get cancer in their lifetime.
Jane Dempster, manager of the Cancer Research UK superstore in Paisley, said: “We are incredibly grateful to all the Cochrane Castle Golf Club members for their support.
“Every step we make towards beating cancer relies on every pound, every hour and every person. Cancer survival in the UK has doubled since the early 1970s and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress.
“However, we have only been able to achieve this thanks to the dedication and commitment of volunteers and supporters like the members of Cochrane Castle Golf Club without whom we would not be able to fund our life-saving research.”
Cancer Research UK invested more than £33 million on research in Scotland throughout the whole of last year.
For further information about Cancer Research UK’s work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit cruk.org
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