Six hours and 90-odd holes into their 15-hour, non-stop Relay For Life fundraiser on Wednesday Wentworth Golf Club professional Todd Brakenridge, Costa Mavros and late inclusion Troy Swain were, somewhat surprisingly, faring well in every sense.
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Unlike previous years when at the same point the blisters had formed, the chafe was developing and thoughts had turned to giving up Brakenridge said this year the trio was, physically, in pretty good shape.
The carts they were whizzing around in certainly helped, although Brakenridge explained that still didn’t make the marathon effort easy.
“It’s funny actually, I’m hurting in much different places than previous years,” Brakenridge laughed as he went up the fourth fairway for the fifth time.
“Being in carts has helped but it’s hurting in different spots than I remember, my lower back is killing me at the moment.
“We’re ticking along pretty well though, we’ll get through.”
Every birdie and eagle the trio made will increase Team Wentworth’s kitty and Brakenridge and Swain hadn’t wasted any time kicking into gear in that respect.
Wentworth’s professional, through 81 holes, had carded almost 15 birdies while Swain was hovering around the five mark after scoring back-to-back birdies on the eighth and ninth.
Mavros had carded his first sub-par hole on the seventh in that fifth round, after smashing his drive well past the peak of the hill and knocking his second shot all but within tap-in distance.
The birdie tally took a substantial hit considering former professional Todd Iffland didn’t take up the challenge this year – he now lives just outside Brisbane – however Brakenridge said the trio was hoping to up the ante in the back half of the marathon.
Incredibly, time seemed like it wouldn’t be too much of an issue in their quest to finish a dozen rounds in 15 hours.
Although they teed off a little after the scheduled start time of 5.30am, the trio had averaged a smidgen more than an hour per round through the first six hours.
Although they would have to pick up the pace slightly, Brakenridge was confident they would hit their mark of 12 full rounds by 8.30pm.
Swain was a late call-up, originally Brakenridge and Mavros were just going to attempt the marathon.
“Clearly he had nothing better to do with his time,” Brakenridge laughed.
Team Wentworth’s Relay For Life fundraising efforts continue after the marathon, the club will host a par-three competition on Australia Day followed a novelty, target event on the dam along with a trivia night, date to be confirmed.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
