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Scoop
20-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Findex Charity Golf Day Racks Up Record Support For Hato Hone St John
With a stacked course focused on fun and supporting a good cause, the fourth annual Findex Community Fund (FCF) Charity Golf Day was described in three short words: a roaring success. Returning to the picturesque Nelson Golf Club, the popular event brought together a record 116 golfers for a day of camaraderie, competition, and community impact. This year, the event was in support of Hato Hone St John's new Nelson Tasman Ambulance Hub in Richmond, a critical project enhancing emergency services for surrounding towns including Nelson, Richmond, Motueka, and Golden Bay. Under clear skies with Tasman Bay's stunning vistas, the Ambrose-style 18-hole tournament at Nelson Links welcomed players of all skill levels, from business owners to weekend warriors. The day buzzed with excitement, kicked off by a Hato Hone St John ambulance sounding the siren for the shotgun start. 'Now that,' says Andrew Smith, Nelson Findex Managing Partner, 'Was a crowd-pleasing moment that underscored the event's purpose!' On-course BBQ and drink stations fuelled players, while the 'Party Hole,' hosted by platinum sponsor Tax Management New Zealand, turned up the fun with burgers, music, and a festive vibe. The Bowater Motor Group's Hole-in-One contest, offering a $40,000 car and a matching donation to St John, kept hopes high, though no player claimed the prize. It was awesome to see the energy and community spirit in action, especially knowing each swing helped fund Hato Hone St John's life-saving services, says Matt Rama, Chief Commercial Officer, of Platinum sponsor TMNZ. 'For TMNZ, supporting the Findex Community Fund just made sense. As a purpose-led business, we share Findex's values around making a real difference. A big thank you to all the players, sponsors, and the Findex team who made the day happen. Together, we've helped make a real impact for a cause that supports New Zealanders.' Smith is thrilled with the turnout. 'A full draw, on point aural branding from Hone Hato St. John, and perfect weather made this one of our best golf days yet,' he enthuses. 'Every swing helped us support a Hub that will save lives in our region.' Debbie Zwies, Hato Hone St John South Island Fundraising Manager echoed Smith's enthusiasm: 'With 86% of our Emergency Ambulance Service funding coming from the government, we rely on a mix of third-party support, fundraising, and community generosity to bridge the gap. Support from organisations such as Findex helps us continue delivering vital services across Aotearoa.' She adds, 'We're pleased to be part of the Findex Community Fund Golf Day and appreciate their contribution to our cause.' The Hub, with a secured site, will feature four ambulances, six rest areas, and a public training facility to future-proof emergency care – all of which, of course, come at a cost. That's why the impact of initiatives like the Golf Day are so crucial, particularly as Hato Hone St John faces rising costs and ageing infrastructure, adds Zwies. 'The Nelson Tasman region is growing, and so are the demands on our ambulance services. That's why we're raising funds for the purpose-built ambulance hub—to provide more space, improved facilities, and future-proof emergency care for the community.' Findex's 2025 event aimed to surpass its 2022 record of $18,000, and early estimates suggested it did just that. Indeed, renowned for their financial acumen if not their prowess on the golf course, once the Findex accountants ran a calculator over the numbers, the total collected is $54,956. 'Not too bad for a day's work…ah, golf,' smiles Smith. Since 2018, the Findex Community Fund has donated over $4.1 million to charities, and this event adds to that legacy. Findex extends gratitude to sponsors including Tax Management New Zealand, alongside players and volunteers.
Daily Mirror
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd face 'do or die' situation as pressure mounts on Ruben Amorim
The Red Devils have endured a miserable Premier League campaign, but they could still find themselves with a back door route into the Champions League Wes Brown insists Manchester United 's performances have been unacceptable this season but feels the campaign can be salvaged by their "do-or-die" Europa League run. The ex-defender - who made 362 appearances during his playing career at the club and remains a regular pundit on United's TV channel, MUTV - said success in Europe would save what has been a dreadful season for the Red Devils. United are 14th in the Premier League table, but still could qualify for the Champions League should they win the Europa League. Their quarter-final victory over Lyon has passed into Old Trafford legend, and they face Athletic Bilbao over two legs for a place in the final on May 21. According to Brown, a victory in the tournament may provide a solid foundation for Ruben Amorim to build upon next season. Brown said: "It has been a tough season, especially in the Premier League. It has not been up to standard and it's not just the fans who understand that, I'm sure the players and the manager do as well. "Luckily, we've still got a little lifeline in the Europa League. It's a do-or-die situation. We could potentially win that and then, it's not that everything's forgotten because everything has to be improved, but it's a base for next season that can really push you on." Amorim's start to life at United has been beset with problems and the Portuguese coach has earned just six wins from his first 23 Premier League games. Questions have been raised about whether he has the players to suit his 3-4-2-1 system, and Brown expects an overhaul this summer. He said: "It's more likely that he'll try to get as many players as he can in the summer. Players will leave as well. But I do think it will take a while. Regardless of systems, we've been making too many mistakes in games. "We've not been a team at times, we've depended on individuals to pull us out of the trenches and that's where we need to get better, just purely team performances." Marcus Rashford's long-term future remains uncertain and even though he is out of favour at United, Brown hopes to see the England star back at the club. "He's done really well (at Villa)," said Brown. "He still is a Manchester United player and, hopefully, whatever's gone on in the past with himself and the club can get sorted out and we can see him in the Man United shirt again. Whether that happens, I am not sure." Wes Brown was speaking at the Worldwide Hospitality Group Golf Day, in aid of the North-West Air Ambulance Charity.
Los Angeles Times
29-03-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
‘The Golf 100' isn't so much a pecking order of greatest players. It's an index of lively profiles
From John McDermott's fragile psyche to the sustained excellence of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods — or Woods and Nicklaus; no spoiler here on who's No. 1 — this countdown of the top golfers is less a list than an index of insightful, lively profiles rife with anecdotes centered on their most joyous and miserable moments. 'The Golf 100: A spirited ranking of the greatest players of all time' is the 16th title by author Michael Arkush, most of them from the sports realm including New York Times bestsellers 'The Last Season' with Phil Jackson and 'The Big Fight' with Sugar Ray Leonard. This one is all Arkush and displays his storytelling — some sweet, some savory, a few bitter — in bite-size pieces. He includes greats from the early 20th century. He includes greats from other countries. He includes women. Why? Because their stories are compelling, even if ranking them became messy. So, yes, there are 100 in all, spread over 366 pages. Lists of the greatest golfers aren't a novel conceit. GolfDay published one a year ago. Golf Digest has its own. Folks have concocted lists on Reddit. Bleacher Report took a swing. There is even the website Times sportswriter Houston Mitchell got more than 12,000 readers to respond in 2009 to a poll ranking golfers. The top five are among Arkush's top 10, although not remotely in the same order. Most rankings are based on point systems, assigning weighted numbers to categories such as total tournaments won, top-10 finishes, player of the year awards, career longevity and performance in the four majors — the U.S. Open, Masters, British Open and PGA Championship. Arkush prioritized the majors, writing in the forward that they 'feature the strongest fields and, more often than not, are staged on the most demanding courses. When history is on the line.' Still, Arkush allowed himself license after covering professional golf for 30 years (he was an entertainment reporter for The Times from 1988 to 1995). Once the numbers were tabulated, he shuffled the deck by employing subjective criteria such as a golfer's impact or contributions to the sport. 'I was similar to a juror who, despite a stern warning from the judge not to let evidence deemed inadmissible be a factor in the verdict, couldn't help its affecting his thinking in one way or another,' Arkush wrote. An example is his inclusion of Francis Ouimet, a name unfamiliar to all but the most serious golf history buffs. He won the 1913 U.S. Open at the tender age of 20 over Harry Vardon, a British golf titan credited with inventing the modern grip and swing. Bobby Jones, the epitome of class, came along next, and the pendulum soon swung to the U.S. side of the Atlantic. Like so many writers, Arkush was loath to let numbers get in the way of a good yarn, beginning with ranking McDermott at No. 100. The cheeky son of a mailman became the first American to win the U.S. Open in 1911 — at age 19 — one year after he finished second to Scottish immigrant Alex Smith, telling him as they exited the course, 'I'll get you next year, you big tramp.' McDermott's penchant for popping off soon got him in trouble, and that was followed by a steep fall. He embarrassed the more genteel of his countrymen by bragging about his Open victories in the presence of Vardon. Then he was saved by a lifeboat after being a victim of a shipwreck. Then he lost a fortune in the stock market. Then he was committed to a sanitarium in 1916 and was never the same. Arkush concludes the profile describing a chance meeting between an elderly McDermott and a gracious Arnold Palmer that provides a poignant connection between the infancy of professional golf in America and its elevation in stature to the 'Arnie's Army' level by 1970. Only 99 to go. The list includes 15 women, trailblazers and champions such as Mickey Wright, whose 82 Tour victories included 13 majors and whose swing was lauded as the best of anyone regardless of gender by no less than Ben Hogan. Pioneers of the sport, firmly planted in the wellspring of 19th-century Scotland, are given their due. While the Union and Confederate armies were preparing for war across the pond, Willie Park Jr. and Old Tom Morris exuded geniality and competence on the green, dominating the British Open from its inception in 1860 through more than a decade. Old Morris passed on his mashie niblick — an early term for a seven iron — to his equally talented son, Young Tom Morris, who won the British Open four times from 1868 to 1872. They are the only father-son combo among the 100. Americans began to hold their own by the 1920s, and professional golf has increased in popularity as a spectator sport to this day. It's also an endeavor that nearly anyone can try and many become passionate about. One hundred is a somewhat arbitrary number to cap excellence, impact and irresistible storytelling. It's plenty for Arkush to mine, though, and relate the history of golf through the very best golfers. As for the thorny task of comparing golfers across generations and even centuries, Arkush leans on the wisdom of Jones, whose words can be extrapolated fairly to include women as well as men: 'I think we must agree that all a man can do is beat the people who are around at the same time he is. He cannot win from those who came before any more than he can from those who may come afterward.'
