Inaugural Mike Tindall Charity Golf Day

A star-studded cast from the worlds of sport and show business joined forces to raise more than £40,000 for charity at the inaugural Mike Tindall MBE Celebrity Golf Classic at Mannings Heath Golf Club.

Former England rugby captain Mike Tindall, MBE, teamed up with a host of celebrities including a number of his 2003 World Cup winning colleagues to raise money for two military charities, Rugby For Heroes and the On Course Foundation, at the event which was sponsored and supported by The Legion Foundation.

Jason Leonard, capped a record 114 times by England, Will Greenwood, Ben Kay and Austin Healey were all on hand to help the Gloucester player-coach out on the day, and they were joined at the West Sussex venue by the likes of leading Sky TV football pundit Jamie Redknapp and ex-Formula 1 motor racing ace Johnny Herbert.

Also competing on the fairways of Mannings Heath's renowned Waterfall Course were former top supermodel Jodie Kidd, television presenters Gethin Jones, Di Dougherty and ‘Take Me Out - The Gossip' TV presenter and co-host Zoe Hardman.

Tindall's wife, former world three-day eventing champion Zara Phillips MBE, lent her full support from the side-lines before the action switched in the evening to Mannings Heath's sister property, the five-star South Lodge Hotel, for a gala dinner and fundraising auction.

Tindall, playing off a handicap of 14, produced an impressive score of 41 Stableford points to finish joint-fifth in the individual event, while he fared even better by helping his four ball come third in the team competition.

But it was London Welsh full-back Edd Thrower who took top golfing honours as he clinched a memorable double, winning the individual title with 44 points and helping his playing partners to a one-point success in the team contest.

Tindall said: "It was a great honour to host my first celebrity golf classic and I'd like to pass on my heartfelt thanks to everyone who gave up their time to attend. Using the spirit of golf and sportsmanship, we managed to raise a fantastic amount of money to support two very worthy charities which help our military servicemen and women make the transition from military to civilian life."

Mannings Heath, set in 500 acres of beautiful Sussex downland, is owned by the Exclusive Golf group alongside The Manor House Golf Club in Castle Combe, near Bath, and boasts two 18-hole layouts - the Waterfall Course and Kingfisher Course.

The former, a members-only course, will host the 2013 English Women's Amateur Strokeplay Championship in August while the latter flows gracefully through the Sussex countryside, testing the skills and nerve of the most seasoned player and was rated by the ‘Top 100 Golf Courses in England' as the best pay-and-play course in the county in 2011.

Tindall added: "Mannings Heath provided the perfect venue for the event, all our guests and golfers were very impressed with the facilities. The staff couldn't have done any more to help and I'd like to thank everybody there for contributing to a memorable event, in particular, general manager Steve Slinger, who made the organisation of the event an effortless occasion."

Exclusive Golf was formed in 2010 and is a part of Exclusive Hotels, a prestigious group of individual, stylish hotels in the south of England, located in stunning surroundings and presenting a luxurious tranquillity in beautiful English locations.