THOUSANDS of pounds have been raised to help research into cystic fibrosis at an all-day golf event.

Organised by HGV driver Simon Macdonald, the event saw 36 golfers take to the course at Paultons Golf Centre in a bid to raise cash for Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Simon, who lives in Botley with his family, said the cause is “close to [his] heart” after his wife Cheryl was diagnosed with the condition just under 10 years ago.

Kicking off at 10am on June 10, nine teams of four golfers took to the green to play a full 18 holes.

Complete with a raffle, a magician and music DJ’d by Steve himself under his alias SM Trax, the event saw more than £4,000 raised.

Daily Echo: Simon and Cheryl Macdonald. Simon and Cheryl Macdonald.

It comes after a similar event in 2017 saw Simon and his group of golfers raise more than £2,000 for Southampton General Hospital’s adult cystic fibrosis team.

He said he was hoping to get past £3,000 but never expected to get as much as he did.

He said: “I was overwhelmed. Everyone was so generous. It was just really nice to give something back to the trust for helping out and keeping Cheryl going.

“We did a Just Giving page and people donated on that as well. In total we sold £2,500 worth of raffle tickets.”

Simon’s wife Cheryl Macdonald was born with problems with her lungs and kidneys, but it wasn’t until she was 34 when she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.

READ MORE: Golf day raises thousands for Southampton General Hospital’s adult cystic fibrosis team

Having been looked after at Southampton General, she wasn’t allowed to go out for almost a year and was told her life expectancy was 36.

But now at the age of 43, she spoke about how pleased she was at how much had been raised which will now go towards further research to help those with the condition.

She said: “We never thought for a minute we would get that much.”

Steve Baker, events manager at Paultons Golf Centre, gave a reduction on the price for the use of the course whilst prizes were donated for the raffle from across Hampshire and even from Everton Football Club.

But Simon doesn’t intend to stop with this event, and told the Echo that they want to make it “bigger and better” when they do the event again next year.

The JustGiving page for the golf event can be found justgiving.com/fundraising/Simon-Macdonald6

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