Taking time out for charity

There are very few sports in the world that does as much for charity as golf does. In fact, professional golf in the US alone raises millions of dollars for one cause or the other.

Besides, players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els have made a name for themselves with their generous contributions.

But even within golf, there are few charity events as spread out as the annual Christel House Open Golf. On one single day, more than 3,000 golfers tee off from 20 different locations in 11 countries across 24 time zones.

The unique format of the tournament requires the event to be finished within 24 hours in an amazing single-day format. Tournament sites are located as far as Austria, Canada, England, Germany, India, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and the US.

The Indian leg of the event, which was a roaring success last year, once again had the honour of having two venues "" Bangalore and Pune "" this week.

Held on June 16 to raise funds for the underprivileged children across the globe, the other aim this year was also to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for holding the largest one-day charity golfing event. But by the time it ended in California, it was well into June 17 in India.

One of the unique features in the event is to maintain continuity by 'flying' the ball across the world. The play, which commenced in India, started and finished at sites across the globe.

The game concluded as the last ball "" the same one used for the tee off in Bangalore "" was putted into the 18th hole in California as the sun set. The ball, sponsored by FedEx, was couriered and delivered in time for the 18th and final hole of the event.

In India, each of the two-member team had paid Rs 10,000 to take part in the event and the proceeds went to Christel House. In A total of 116 players teed off in India. Many of the celebrity players were sponsored by companies that invited them to participate in the event.

At some venues in the US, the entry fee per player was $150 which covered costs of usage of cart and accessories like a shirt, a gym bag, golf balls, tee packet, besides some gift packs from local businesses.

It is estimated that over Rs 30 lakh will be raised from India. The funds generated for Christel House across the world will be 15 to 20 times higher.

The main sponsors of the events in India was ING Vysya Life Insurance. Its CEO, Frank Costa, hit the ceremonial tee shot in Bangalore, indicating that his company was in as a long-term partner to the cause.

The proceeds from the Christel House Open in India are to be utilised for the new Christel House Learning Centre in Hennur, Karnataka. The mission of the charity, founded by Christel DeHaan in 1988, is to help the orphaned and under-privileged children to break out of the poverty cycle.

Apart from India, there are four other Christel House Learning Centres "" in Mexico, Venezuela, South Africa and the US, besides schools for underprivileged in many other countries.

In India, Tiger Sports Marketing, which organised the two events, roped in sportspersons like the former India cricket captain Kapil Dev and other cricketers like Syed Kirmani, Venkatesh Prasad and Sujith Somasundar. Hockey star Ashish Ballal also participated in the event.

The two-member winning team at each of the venue qualified for the World Championship to be held in August at The Westin Mission Hills Resort outside Palm Springs in California. Gary Player, who designed the course, will personally host the event and will play golf with the winners in the first stage.

Gary Player's achievements include winning the Grand Slam of Golf and nine Majors, besides nine senior championships and over 160 tournaments worldwide. The man who has designed over 200 golf courses around the world is regarded as the "The World's Most Travelled Athlete".

Sure the winners of June 16 will get to play with Gary Player, but the biggest victory will be for the children, who because of a few men's passion for the game, will be given an opportunity to lead a decent life.