Golf day for Neal’s charity

The tournament has been organised by Neal’s father Ivor, who originally from Lurgan, and all proceeds will go to the Neal Turkington Nepal Project (NTNP) which has already funded the expansion of a school in Nepal and is planning similar school projects in the impoverished country.

A total of 25 fourball teams are expected to take part in the competition which will be held at Portstewart Strand Links course on Friday, May 24.

So far, around 20 teams have signed up and Ivor is hoping that other golf enthusiasts will take part in the event, which he predicts should be a “tremendous day out”.

Said Ivor, a member of Portstewart Golf Club, “It’s one of the best links courses in Ireland and one of the most beautiful settings anywhere.”

The 18-hole course is expected to take between four and five hours to complete and the first tee-off time is 12 noon.

There are great team prizes including fourball vouchers, nearest the pin, longest drive and ‘in it to win it’.

A meal and tea/coffee is included in the team price of £200. Businesses can also sponsor tees and flags and signage will be erected to advertise the sponsors’ names.

Later in the evening, a quiz will take place in the clubhouse starting at 8.30pm and although it is a separate event from the golf tournament, funds will again go to the Nepal fund.

To date, the fund has reached £120,000 with £50,000 of this having been spent on expanding and renovating the school in the Thansing district, where Neal taught in 2008.

Neal’s family works closely with the Gurkha Welfare Fund in deciding where the money is best spent and is currently waiting for the trust to advise them on another two projects.

Anyone interested in taking part should email [email protected] or call Ivor on 0784 098 9968.