GOLFERS have raised £2,245 in honour of a champion player who lost his battle with cancer last year.

No fewer than 98 golfers teed up for the Ken Mewse Memorial Trophy on August 21, at Tynedale Golf Club in Hexham.

A select field of Ken’s golfing friends populated the course where he enjoyed unrivalled success, winning the club championship for seven consecutive years between 2005 and 2011.

Ken, who worked across the district as a roofer, died on October 12 last year, aged 54.

The money raised will go to the Northumberland Palliative Care Trust Fund, which supported Ken and his family after he was diagnosed with skin cancer in January 2015.

Relatives of Ken were present during the event, including his widow Katrina.

She said: “It was a wonderful day. Everyone was so friendly and supportive, and enjoyed their golf.

“The weather was kind to us, but maybe that was Ken looking over us all, because he was a fair weather golfer.

“Ken was very modest about his golfing success, but he would have been extremely proud to see people playing for a trophy in his memory.”

Winner of the men’s contest was Steven Nixon, who scored 42 points to finish just ahead of Tony Dance on countback. Adam Murphy was third with 40 points. Linda Murray won the ladies’ competition with 40 points, Sheila Newman was two points behind in second place, with Margaret Heads third with 36 points.

The Northumberland Palliative Care Trust provides specialist equipment for terminally ill patients.

Graeme Gilhespy, a long-term friend of Ken’s who organised the event alongside Katrina, was amazed at its success. He said: “We had set a target figure of £1,000 but were simply blown away by the generosity shown on the day and during the lead up to the event, resulting in a final figure of £2,245 being achieved.”