AFPA Trust BIG Golf 2026 tees up £18,000 for charity

The AFPA Trust BIG Golf 2026 raised an incredible £17,762.50 for eight charities following a fun day of competition at The Berkshire Golf Club last week.

Played in glorious weather, the annual event featured impressive golf, a hole-in-one, and a series of standout individual and team performances, with charity donations boosted by the continued support of sponsors and partners.

In total, £15,962.50 was won during the event, with Novuna match-funding one of their charity awards to take the final fundraising total to £17,762.50, which will be shared between eight deserving charities.

One of the highlights of the day came when Simon Trudgeon of DLL achieved a hole-in-one on the 10th hole while playing for Odessa, securing £1,000 for Oxford Hospitals Charity in memory of his late DLL colleague Ken Cotter, who recently passed away.

Among the individual prize winners, Andy Shepherd, playing for Haydock, claimed the Nearest the Pin competition, earning £262.50, including the charity partner bonus, for The Wish Centre. Matt Jones of Propel won the Longest Drive competition, securing £300 (with charity partner bonus) for Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity.

The main competition – best two scores from four – was won by the CBC and Simply Finance team of Graeme Chisolm, James Collins, Mike Randall and Tony Boase, who collected £3,000 for Cancer Research UK.

Second place went to the VIP Apps team of Kevin Billington, Simon Everidge, Ryan Watkins and Jonathan Rose, winning £2,400, including charity partner bonus, for The Honeypot Children’s Charity.

Third place was claimed by Reward Finance, represented by Robert Still, Richard O’Brien, Stephen Hole and John Salako, who secured £1,200, including their charity partner bonus, for Women’s Aid.

In the Yellow Ball competition, Star Capital and Novuna Business Finance, represented by Steve Swift, Sam Geneen, Lewis Smith and Alan Smith, emerged victorious. Star Capital donated its £1,500 winnings to Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis, while Novuna match-funded its charity partner bonus win, increasing the donation to Pilgrims Hospices in East Kent from £1,800 to £3,600.

Equal second place in the Yellow Ball competition was shared by Propel Finance, whose team of Matt Jones, Daniel Currie, Daniel Ellery and Steffan Chen donated their £2,400 charity partner bonus winnings to Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity, and Haydock, represented by Lee Pearson, Andy Taylor, Jim Galowski and Andy Shepherd, who donated their £2,100 charity partner bonus to The Wish Centre in Blackburn.

The day’s best individual golfing performance came from Lewis Smith of Novuna, who, playing off a handicap of 8, produced a superb gross score of 72, just one over par, earning the Round of the Day accolade in a performance organisers said would have been good enough to make the cut at the British Open Championship!

Robert Taylor, Chair of the AFPA Trust, said: “BIG Golf 2026 was another fantastic example of what makes our industry so special. We enjoyed a brilliant day’s golf in perfect conditions, but more importantly we raised a record amount for eight incredible charities. Congratulations to all of our winners, particularly Simon Trudgeon on his memorable hole-in-one, and thank you to everyone who took part, donated and supported the event.

“Special thanks also go to AFPA Trust Platinum Partners – LTi and Paragon SME Lending – and to Matt Chambers, whose hard work and dedication once again made BIG Golf such a memorable success.”

Looking ahead, the AFPA Trust has already pencilled in next year’s BIG Golf event for Thursday 22 July 2027. Organisers are aiming to increase participation by adding a further five teams, enabling an 18-team shotgun start so that everyone can begin and finish together before enjoying lunch and the prize presentation at the same time.

Anyone interested in entering a team or finding out more is encouraged to register their interest with Matt Chambers at matt@iloveitthere.co.uk. And if your organisation can field an additional team, even better!