DUNBLANE, SCOTLAND | Alison Nicholas, the past U.S. Women’s Open and Women’s British Open champion, called for a massive cheer for Heather MacRae, the Ladies European Tour player who had organised Tuesday’s pro-am at Dunblane – it was for Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust – by way of a prelude to the Solheim Cup up the road.
MacRae’s efforts were sterling to say the least. Though diagnosed with cervical cancer in March, the 35-year-old Scot played in the Women’s PGA Professional Championship in May at Trentham Golf Club while awaiting her operation and, against all the odds, she won the event by a couple of shots. It was the second time she won the Women’s PGA Professional Championship after she triumphed in the 2016 event. By winning this year, she emerged as the top qualifier for this October’s inaugural Women’s PGA Cup, an international team event in Austin, Texas.
Her plans to tie in a pro-am with the Solheim Cup week began to take shape two years ago when she knew that many of her LET friends would be in Scotland for the Solheim. The good cause was introduced when she learned of her condition and found Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, which had been set up by Jo Maxwell’s husband, James, following the then 40-year-old Jo’s death some 20 years ago. “There was nowhere else to provide the help and support I found there,” said MacRae.
The courage MacRae has shown in her fight with the disease – and which encouraged the support so amply demonstrated on Tuesday – began on the day after she had the results of her tests. She went right ahead with the hosting of an International Women’s Day event at Stirling Golf Club and conducted three separate clinics without letting anyone know anything of her sudden troubles.
Her operation went well but, three or so weeks after her victory at Trentham GC, she was recalled for a further operation on her lymph nodes. Next up was the full-scale hysterectomy in June which mercifully resulted in her getting the all-clear with no requests to return for chemotherapy.
“Heather’s not just one of life’s great competitors but a really strong ballstriker,” said Nicholas, who played with her in the Women’s PGA Professional Championship at the Berkshire a couple of years ago. At that point, Nicholas saw the Scot as a useful player who needed nothing so much as a spot of encouragement. “When I heard of her cancer problems, I encouraged her to keep going with her golf and that’s what she’s done. She’s a huge inspiration to us all.”
Shelley Kerr, head of the Scottish women’s football side which did what the men had failed to do in many years in qualifying for this year’s World Cup, said that Heather got in touch with her about the pro-am at the time of the World Cup. “Heather’s courage was a source of inspiration to me and there was nothing I wanted to do more than give her my support today,” said Kerr. For the record, Kerr plays to a handicap of 23.
MacRae raised in excess of £4,000 for Jo’s charity on Tuesday – money which she knows will be put to good use in that the research is ongoing and has already led to an eminently successful immunisation programme.
GGP asked MacRae if there was anything that stood out among the series of congratulations she fielded for running her event.
“It’s less,” she said, “about what they’ve been saying than what they’ve done. I had 17 teams of three out there today – all women save for one man who gamely stepped in when a couple of ladies had to pull out at the last minute. They’ve come from everywhere and I couldn’t be more touched.”
Dunblane is the course where MacRae, a two-time winner on the LET’s Access Series, began her golf. Intriguingly, it is the same course where those brothers of many tennis majors, Andy and Jamie Murray, started their golf and where MacRae would often play in the same ladies’ medals as their grandmother.
Meantime, Judy Murray, the tennis players’ mother, came straight from being one of the speakers at a diversity conference at Gleneagles to hand out MacRae’s pro-am prizes. The two of them are old friends, with Judy having passed on many of her ideas about what needs to be different when it comes to teaching sport to girls.
“I used to pick her brains all the time,” said MacRae. “It was mostly to do with how girls needed more sensitive handling if they were not to be put off.”
MacRae raised in excess of £4,000 for Jo’s charity on Tuesday – money which she knows will be put to good use in that the research is ongoing and has already led to an eminently successful immunisation programme.
One of MacRae’s nieces had been given such a jag before visiting Heather in hospital after the hysterectomy operation. This young relative had clearly thought of it as a bit of a pain and a waste of time but, as you would expect, her aunt was quick to enlighten her.