The inaugural Cure Kids Charity Golf Tournament held at Michael Hill’s private golf course The Hills, near Queenstown on March 24 was an outstanding success raising $250,000 for medical research.

The tournament was the first to be held on the recently completed 18-hole course and

Cure Kids ambassador golfing ace Phil Tataurangi and New Zealand’s most famous golfer Sir Bob Charles were special guests and joined the players on the course at individual holes. Comedian, actress and singer Jackie Clarke was MC for the weekend’s activities.

Also putting his swing into practice was 15-year-old Alex McKay who suffers from cystic fibrosis. Alex is a keen golfer and spoke during the charity dinner and auction about his illness, how it affects him and the advances that are being made through research.

A cocktail party was held at the Sofitel Queenstown on March 23 to launch the event and young Queenstown ambassadors Sophie Newbold, Isabella Davies and Daniel McKay were all present.

After the tournament Amisfield Wine Company held a winetasting of their latest releases, followed by the dinner and auction in the state-of-the-art clubhouse.

A number of live auction items went under the hammer including a trip for two to the Byron Nelson Classic in Dallas Texas, a Safari excursion in Australia’s Northern Territories and BMW 7 series. A silent auction was also well supported.

The Cure Kids Charity Golf Tournament was won by Graeme Rodwell of Queenstown and Fleur Reynolds of Auckland.

The event is to be held every two years and Cure Kids is indebted to Michael Hill for making his course available to the charity.

“We are very excited about the response to the tournament from both sponsors and players,” says South Island Funding Manager Josie Fitzgerald. “The Hills is an amazing facility and the support we have received, in raising such an incredible amount of money in our first year, is quite overwhelming.”