Waihī Beach: The Fox fishing and golfing charity event raises $66,000 for local groups

Olympic bronze medalist Waihī's Dylan Schmidt, with his 13.5kg kingfish at The Fox fishing and golfing charity event over the weekend. Photo / Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media

Waihī Olympian Dylan Schmidt provided the star turn and host Ryan Fox dusted off any cobwebs ahead of a massive 2024, as The Fox charity Waihī Beach golf and fishing event provided a record boost to local coffers over the weekend.

Fox, New Zealand’s star golfer and fresh from the 2023 season in which he rose to number 28 in the world, helped raise $66,000 for the Waihī Beach Surf Lifesaving Club and the Waihī Beach Volunteer Coastguard.

Enlisting fellow sporting celebrities, trampoline star Schmidt, rower Tom MacKintosh, rugby referee Ben O’Keefe, golfer Mark Brown and Fox Snr, former All Black Grant, he’s now raised $175,000 for the two charities over the four years the event - presented by Shimano Fishing New Zealand - has been running.

Schmidt’s 13.5kg kingfish and eight handicap golf swing was the key to helping his team — 24/7 Environmental, featuring Grant Hooker, Sam Dunlop, Andy Roach and Glenn Ross — to the overall title and he was delighted to help out.

“I’ve still got a lot of mates down here and the community still really supports me, so it’s really special to be able to come down and support two great local charities, who do so much for others,” 26-year-old Olympic bronze medalist Schmidt said.

“I also like to recharge down here and my golf career started out here on the Waihī Golf Club course when I was pretty young - I used to come out after school on a Tuesday or Thursday for a lot of years before trampolining took over. After 2016, I watched Lydia Ko play and was determined to get back into golf - it’s such a great escape from the high pressure of sport.”

Like Schmidt, Fox will be gearing up for the Paris Olympics after an extraordinary year in which the 36-year-old made his debut at The Masters and won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, England — the DP World Tour’s showcase event, beating a field that included Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland.

Leading New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox gets play under way with a shotgun start at his charity event, The Fox, at the Waihī Golf Club on Saturday. Photo / Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media

He earned a fulltime PGA Tour card for 2024 by finishing fifth on the DP World Tour but has already committed to coming back to Waihī Beach next summer to continue his association with the charity event which bears his name.

The weather gods also smiled on Saturday’s golf, where Fox led the way in the long-drive competition and provided shots for every team on the par-3 eighth hole and the par-5 12th.

Highlights from Saturday night’s charity auction included a cricket bat, signed by cricket immortal Don Bradman and New Zealand great Martin Crowe who both scored 299 in a test, which went for $9000.

Event director Sports Inc’s Kelsen Butler was absolutely delighted with the support from teams and the local community.

“This is exactly the time when amazing community organisations — like surf clubs and coastguards — need support most and it’s been a privilege to be able to help. And to lock Foxy in for next year — with the schedule he’ll have in 2024 — just shows how important this event is to him, and the character of the man.”