- Betfred British Masters host Danny Willett carded 19 birdies at The Belfry, securing a £19,000 donation from title sponsors Betfred to Prostate Cancer UK.
- More than £48,000 raised during the tournament week by the tournament’s Official Charity
Tournament host Danny Willett secured a £19,000 donation to Prostate Cancer UK after carding 19 birdies across the four rounds of the Betfred British Masters.
For a second successive year the 2016 Masters Tournament winner selected Prostate Cancer UK as the tournament’s Official Charity and title sponsors Betfred pledged to donate £1,000 for every birdie and £2,000 for every eagle made by Willett at The Belfry directly to the charity.
The 34-year-old secured £12,000 before the weekend, carding eight birdies alone during Friday’s second round on the iconic Brabazon Course. He then recorded seven further birdies during Saturday and Sunday’s rounds for a £19,000 total.
Over the last two years as host of the Betfred British Masters, Willett alone has raised £38,000 for the charity as Betfred also donated £1,000 for every birdie made by the Yorkshireman in 2021.
The eight-time DP World Tour winner is a long-term supporter of Prostate Cancer UK and proudly wore the charity’s ‘Man of Men’ badge during the tournament as 50,000 spectators descended on the four-time Ryder Cup venue across the week.
“It’s an amazing contribution,” said Willett. “Betfred’s help during the week has been phenomenal, and it’s nice to actually get the guys in and watch some golf live and have some interaction with fans. It’s been a really special week.
“It shows their massive support over these last two years, with me being the host and the even the previous three or four years before that in sponsoring the British Masters, they have been tremendous in it, during COVID to still keep up the sponsorship and prize fund as they have, they have been amazing.
“Last year at the tournament, there were no fans due to COVID-19. Not only have we raised a lot of money for Prostate Cancer UK, we have also raised a lot of awareness about the disease. Fans were able to go to the tented village this week, speak to people about it and have a one-on-one interaction with a representative from the charity.”
Before the tournament, Willett was sent a good luck video message by Steve Rolley, one of his former junior coaches with England Golf. Rolley was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021 after being randomly selected for a BARCODE1 trial led by The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London. After receiving treatment at The Royal Marsden late last year, Rolley experienced a positive outcome and no further issues are envisaged.
“I remember Steve from EGU coaching at Woodhall Spa and in Spain,” added Willett, who later spoke to Rolley on the phone. “I was surprised to hear that scenario and what he’s gone through in the last 18 months. Lucky that he randomly took part and they got it early enough, and now he’s got the all-clear and is good and healthy again. It’s another one of those things where someone who you know has been affected by it, but luckily he’s seen the other side.”
More than 47,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the United Kingdom and one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
Many supporters descended on the event village across the four days, helping raise even more funds for Prostate Cancer UK by taking on the long putt and chipping challenges, and speaking to charity volunteers to learn more about the disease. Including Danny’s birdies, the charity were proud to raise more than £48,000.
Nicola Tallett, Director of Fundraising & Supporter Engagement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “What an incredible week. We’re so proud Danny Willett once again picked Prostate Cancer UK as his charity of choice for the Betfred British Masters, and are also hugely grateful to the DP World Tour staff for allowing him to host the event for an unprecedented second time, this time with fans returning to the iconic Belfry course.
“Aside from a flurry of birdies from Danny there was also some fantastic fundraising in the event village, including the hugely popular long putt challenge, and those playing in the Pro-Am event, which meant we raised more than £48,000. That game-changing contribution will help fund lifesaving research to beat prostate cancer – the most common cancer in men.”
“Heartfelt thanks to Danny and his management team, Betfred and the DP World Tour for their continued support, for The Belfry for hosting us, and the players, caddies, marshals and fans who showed their backing during the week. Men, we are with you.”
Betfred boss Fred Done said: “Danny was an excellent tournament host both on and off the golf course and we are delighted to donate £19,000 to his chosen charity, Prostate Cancer UK.”
Kit Gartrell, Championship Director of the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett, said: “We were delighted to work alongside Prostate Cancer UK, Danny Willett’s chosen Official Charity for the Betfred British Masters once again. Prostate cancer is a disease which affects one in eight men, so to help raise awareness of the disease amongst the 50,000 strong crowd we welcomed to The Belfry last week was incredibly important. We applaud Danny for his efforts on the golf course and the staff and volunteers from Prostate Cancer UK for their tireless work off the course as significant funds were raised across the week.”
To find out more about Prostate Cancer UK’s work in golf, including their Big Golf Race, in which players can take on two or four rounds in a day, visit prostatecanceruk.org/golf.
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About Prostate Cancer UK
- Prostate Cancer UK has a simple ambition – to stop prostate cancer damaging the lives of men and their families.
- Investing into finding better treatments and tests that could save thousands of lives.
- Working with the NHS to make sure men get access to breakthrough tests and treatments.
- Spreading the word about who is at risk of prostate cancer, especially to those at higher risk.
- Supporting people dealing with prostate cancer and providing health information.
- Visit prostatecanceruk.org now to help beat this disease.
- @ProstateUK #MenWeAreWithYou
About prostate cancer
- Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men.
- More than 11,500 men die from prostate cancer in the UK each year – that’s one man every 45 minutes.
- More than 47,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year – that’s 129 men every day.
- 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. This raises to 1 in 4 for black men.
- Around 400,000 men are living with and after prostate cancer.
- A 30-second online risk checker is available at prostatecanceruk.org/risk-checker
- Prostate cancer mainly affects men over 50 and the risk increases with age. But the risk is higher for black men or men with a family history of prostate cancer, so they may wish to speak to their GP from age 45.
- Prostate cancer often has no symptoms so men shouldn’t wait to see changes before they act.
- Anyone with concerns about prostate cancer may contact Prostate Cancer UK’s Specialist Nurses in confidence on 0800 074 8383 or online via the Live Chat instant messaging service: www.prostatecanceruk.org. The Specialist Nurse phone service is free to landlines and open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays, 10am to 5pm on Wednesdays.
For more information, please contact Gary Haines, Sports PR Officer at Prostate Cancer UK, on gary.haines@prostatecanceruk. Alternatively, email pressoffice@prostatecanceruk.org or call 07984 325001.
About the DP World Tour
The DP World Tour is the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group, with a global schedule featuring a minimum of 44 tournaments in 25 different countries across the 2022 season.
Formerly known as the European Tour, which was established in 1972, the 2022 DP World Tour schedule includes five Rolex Series events, along with four Major Championships, two World Golf Championship events and three tournaments co-sanctioned with the PGA TOUR, as well as tournaments staged around the world with a minimum prize of $2million for all events solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour.
The season concludes with the final Rolex Series event, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, where the winner of the Tour’s season-long competition, the DP World Tour Rankings, will be crowned.
DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, is the title partner of the DP World Tour, which is administered by the European Tour group.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group is the overarching corporate brand which administers four competition brands: the DP World Tour, the Challenge Tour, the Legends Tour and, along with the PGA of America, is the Managing Partner of golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup.
Established in 1972, the European Tour group is committed to ‘Driving Golf Further’ through our guiding principles of being innovative, inclusive and global.
Innovative: We are driving innovation in golf through the creation of award-winning content, pioneering tournament formats and the use of the latest technology and inventive fan engagement. We are committed to attracting new audiences whilst respecting the tradition of our sport.
Inclusive: We are committed to include all who share a love for the game of golf. We are passionate about a closer collaboration with the women’s game, golf for the disabled and promoting the many physical and mental health benefits of playing golf.
Global: Since 1972, players from 37 different countries have won tournaments on our main Tour, while our live broadcast reaches more than 490 million homes in more than 150 countries every week, generating in excess of 2,200 global broadcast hours for each event. We also enjoy the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, BMW, Callaway, Emirates, Fortinet, Velocity Global and Zoom as Official Partners.
The European Tour group has Strategic Alliances with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour and ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, while we also drive positive community impact through our overarching CSR programme, Golf for Good.