ONE of the world’s best one-armed golfers is in danger of missing out on the Fightmaster Cup later this year as he struggles for funding.

Darren Grey, from Darlington, needs to raise around £600 to cover accommodation and travel expenses that would enable him to qualify and then, hopefully, compete at Stirling Golf Club in September.

Grey, 29, has been ranked in the world top four for the last six years and was the world champion in 2013. He has also claimed 13.5 points out of 15 for Europe in the Fightmaster Cup– one-armed golf’s Ryder Cup equivalent.

He also boasts two English gross Championship titles and one nett Scottish Open crown among his list of honours but is unlikely to compete at the World Championships in June because he does not have enough working hours to cover his expenses.

Grey said: “I would love to play in the Fightmaster Cup again but it is done on qualification and I need sponsorship for both. I can’t play for Europe again if I don’t play in the World Championship and qualify in June. The deadline is five weeks, so I need to sort something now.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring Darren in his push for world glory should contact 07956 658572.

ROCKLIFFE HALL has been named one of the best golf clubs in Europe at a recent awards ceremony.

The resort’s golf course picked up the 59Club’s Gold Flag award, the industry benchmark recognising the best in the sector, in the annual Service Excellence Awards.

The 59Club is Europe’s leading golf-specific mystery shopper service and a PGA Official Supplier. The organisation is the industry standard for measuring and comparing customer service levels and analysing all key revenue streams for golf venues.

A range of categories of golf venues competed for top honours – from pay-and-play courses to international resorts such as Dubai Creek.

As well as the Gold Flag award, Rockliffe Hall was also a runner-up in the ‘ultimate venue’ and ‘greenkeeper of the year’ categories.

Previous award winners include this year’s host club The Belfry, 2010 Ryder Cup venue Celtic Manor Resort, Wentworth and Stoke Park.

Rockliffe Hall’s course manager, Davy Cuthbertson, said: “We are incredibly proud to have clinched this gold award as it really does mean that we are amongst the best in Europe- you only have to look at the past winners to see that.”

KEEN golfers are being asked to dedicate one of the longest days of 2014 entirely to their game, playing 16 hours of golf between sun up and sun down to help a charity funding research into rare and devastating muscle-wasting conditions.

On Friday, June 13, the Four Course Classic challenge will see teams of four players from across the UK take on four courses, playing 72 holes and covering 15 miles of fairway, to support the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. Hundreds of clubs around the UK support the challenge each year.

Visit www.fourcourseclassic.co.uk to sign up and select your chosen courses or call 020 7803 4824.