Symonds Warne Golf Invitational

Bulls Masters Managing Director, Jimmy Maher spoke candidly about approaching the Board to get an event to honour Andrew Symonds and Shane Warne off the ground last year…

“I wanted to remember their legacy by creating an event that epitomised what they stood for as men, which was all the things they loved, like being competitive, mateship and they both loved representing their respective states, so the golf format made sense”, Maher explains.

The Shane Warne Legacy was approached and Helen Nolan with her team were immediately activated to join the cause and worked tirelessly to get the inaugural event up off the ground and make it a huge success.

Make no bones about it, this was a competitive two days of golf, with Team Symonds boasting some handy golfers including former dual-international footballer, Matt Rogers, along with a host of the most elite cricketers to ever represent Queensland including Lord Ian Botham, Ian Healy AO, Allan Border AO, Greg Chappell AO MBE, Andy Bichel, Adam Dale, Darren Lehmann, Carl Rackemann, Mitchell Johnson and Ken Healy plus Wallaby legend Andrew Slack to defend the competitive juices of Andrew Symonds honour.

The Team Warne line-up had every reason to be confident though with a bevvy of Victorian sporting legends flying into the Gold Coast to play for Warnie’s pride, including AFL legends Dermott Brereton, Berto DiPierdomenico, Leigh Montagna, Aaron Hammill, Campbell Brown and Stephen Milne. They were joined by Victorian Cricket royalty Aaron Finch, Simon O’Donnell, Shaun Graf and Rob Quiney plus Warnie’s Hampshire teammate, Dimitri Mascarenhas. Team Warne was completed by former World Series of Poker champion, Joe Hachem and his brother, Jason Warne.

The profiled golf players were joined by corporate teams who supported the event, with the funds raised going to support three worthy causes, including Rural Aid, the Queensland Cricket Foundation and the Shane Warne Legacy.

The golf event followed a similar format to the President’s Cup with a corporate friendly modification… beginning with a four-ball Ambrose which finished with the teams tied on 11. The Queenslanders made their move in the afternoon Foursomes as the Victorians wilted in the hot sun at Royal Pines Resort. After nine holes Team Symonds took a dominant lead in proceedings with the scores now advancing to QLD – 27 to VIC – 18.

Saturday offered a chance for Team Warne to do what Shane had done so many times in his career playing cricket… drag his team back from the brink to win! However with Friday being a free night where they were left to their own devices, the lure of the bright lights might have been too tempting for some. Team Victoria put up a valiant fight on Saturday’s Best Ball competition but they couldn’t claw back the lead built up by Team Queensland.

Final Score: Team Symonds 32.5 defeat Team Victoria 23.5

Team Queensland received the cup on Saturday night at the fundraiser dinner in-front of a strong crowd of 300 which included Shane Warne’s children Jackson, Brooke and Summer plus Andrew Symonds former wife Laura, and children Chloe and Will. The dinner served as a homage to Symonds and Warne, with some of his best mates taking to the stage to share stories about the late cricket legends.

Ian Healy, Darren Lehmann, Merv Hughes and AFL Hall of Famer Dermott Brereton told a few funny and heart-warming stories about Symonds and Warne.

The event was a huge success and will aim to become an annual event. Next year it will run in Victoria with more details to be confirmed next year. The inaugural Symonds Warne Golf Invitational owes it’s success to the corporate sponsors who backed the concept which includes: From Queensland, CNW Electrical Wholesale, BMD Group, Height-4-Hire, Gannon Fabrications, Bartons Motor Group, Ironbark Housing, Blue Maintenance Group, AAB, Ellis Air, Bundaberg Toyota and Queensland Cricket.

Victorian support came from Westpac, Volando Tequila, Xentrix Studios, Commonwealth Bank, Footscray Cricket Club, Pro-Medic Services Victoria, Bentleigh Group, Poker Stars, Flipper Underground and Diabetics Australia.