A GOLFER has completed a staggering eight rounds of golf in a single day for charity.

Richard May, of Welwyn, began his first round at 3.30am in the pitch black and, after seven further rounds spanning four different courses, finished nearly 16 hours later at 7.15pm.

The WGC Golf Club pro completed his first two rounds at Harpenden Common Golf Club by 7am, a further two each at Harpenden Golf Club and Wheathampstead’s Mid Herts Golf Club by 3.15pm, before finishing rounds seven and eight at his Mannicotts-based home club – a full two hours ahead of schedule.

The 43-year-old’s golfing marathon – which involved walking 41 miles and using torches to find the ball during the first round – was organised to raise funds for his club captain’s two chosen charities.

An estimated �2,000 has been raised for WGC-based Isabel Hospice and the Chris Ryan Trust, a charity founded to support a junior golfer at the WGC club who was paralysed after a car accident in 2008.

Richard was joined by numerous WGC Golf Club members throughout the trial, including captain Peter Woodrow and vice-captain Keith Travers, and more than 100 applauded him off at the end.

Richard said: “For the last two rounds everyone else had a buggy but I walked every single part of each course.

“To do it for those two charities, and one of them [Chris Ryan Trust] being very close to my heart makes it all worthwhile.

“Afterwards I wasn’t in a very fit state but we did make it back for the England game... unfortunately!”

This year’s fundraiser follows a similar event last summer when Richard managed five rounds, all at different courses.

And he already has another golf challenge up his sleeve for 2011 – which will “involve a lot of walking and a lot of cycling over a number of days”.