THE second annual Kooyong Foundation Corporate Pro Am proved every bit as successful this week as the original.
By Marc McGowan
THE second annual Kooyong Foundation Corporate Pro Am proved every bit as successful this week as the original.
Another strong collection of past and present tennis stars, including Sam Stosur, Paul McNamee, Sam Groth, Nicole Bradtke, Omar Jasika, Luke Saville and Marc Polmans, supported the Foundation’s biggest fundraiser.
The format remained the same: fourteen corporate teams, with each one randomly drawing a professional player, plus a Kooyong Foundation scholarship-holder.
Saville, a former world junior No.1 who represented Australia in the Davis Cup, spearheaded Property Investor Portal to victory over McNamee’s Global Chinese Tennis Association in a ‘tiebreak shoot-out’ after finishing top two from the round-robin matches.
Brownlow Medal-winning AFL footballer Chris Judd and triple Olympic gold medalist rower James Tomkins were other big-name athletes who took to Kooyoong’s grass courts.
But the biggest winners were the kids, who had the chance to play alongside their heroes and will continue to benefit from the almost $3 million raised across more than two decades.
The Foundation tips in $100,000-plus annually to support junior tennis players, but importantly encourages recipients to have a back-up plan away from the court, such as the American college system.
Property Investor Portal’s winning captain, Cal Board, chose to enter a team this year to “give back” to the Foundation for its backing of his daughter, Jessica.
“I watched it last year, my daughter is part of the foundation, and I saw how much everyone was enjoying it," Board said. "We got a few mates together and decided we’d give it a crack. They’ve been very supportive of Jess when she’s travelled overseas, so I thought, ‘It’s a win-win’. You get to have a bit of a hit with mates, a few beers, and give back to an organisation that supports not only my daughter, but a lot of my friends’ daughters and Jessica’s friends. She’s made some really great connections through the Foundation and forged friendships, so I think it’s amazing that a club like Kooyong can do this.”
Joining Saville and Board in the triumphant squad were Aidan Fitzgerald, Dave Hughes, Anthony Zafiris and Foundation scholarship-holder Hayden Heng.
Groth played despite nursing a sore right shoulder - he still managed to send down some thunderbolts - and having just won his Nepean seat as he pursues a political career.
There were the usual lighthearted exchanges, including Polmans opting for an underarm serve to fellow Kooyong product Andrew Whittington.
Stosur also got into the spirit for the odd trademark fist pump - and even admonished herself when the amateurs occasionally got one up on her.
“It's a great cause and obviously they help so many of these young players, whether they turn pro, go to college, or whatever it is,” Stosur said. “Not everyone can be a pro player, but if you've got support from a foundation like this; it's going to help you in whatever avenue you go to in life, so hopefully they all had a good time and raised some money.”
Kooyong Foundation board member Brian Cooney was thrilled with how well the event went again and hoped the Pro Am would go from strength to strength in the coming years.
“The foundation kids love it, and the teams really enjoy it, too, but most importantly, you can’t have a Pro Am without pros,” Cooney said. “Nearly every pro who played last year came back this year, so that tells you they had a good day - and the ones who didn't had a reason. The foundation has the ability to help kids who probably can do with help, socially and economically. So, even if they don't become, say, a top-50 tennis player; they can use tennis a little bit to improve their lives - that’s where we can have an impact.”
