In its sixth year, the 2023 Essendon Fields’ Golf Classic on King Island was held last weekend and will now make a series of wishes come true for critically ill children.

This year 64 golfers took part in the successful event, held over two days on two of the world’s most spectacular golf courses located on King Island. Raising an exceptional record total of $33,124 for Make-A-Wish Australia, the total amount raised across the six events now exceeds $133,000.

Essendon Fields created this special golf event in conjunction with Air Adventure to offer a special experience for golf lovers who also want to give something back to the community, and each year it has grown in popularity and stature. In its six years since 2018, this spectacular and challenging charity classic has quickly become a must-do event for Victoria and Tasmania’s golf enthusiasts. The weekend sees participants fly directly from Essendon Fields Airport to King Island, and play 18 holes at the Ocean Dunes course on Saturday, followed by 18 holes at Cape Wickham on Sunday. 2023’s winner was Dean Jamieson from Essendon Fields based Super Gardens, with an impressive total of 73 points across the two days. Essendon Fields CEO Brendan Pihan also finished seventh for the weekend with 69 points off a handicap of 7.

“This golf event is something we look forward to every year and the golfers just love it. In the end we raise important funds for a great charity,” said Air Adventure’s Jon Perrett.

“Air Adventure has a strong connection with King Island. My father Ross was actually involved with Cape Wickham from the beginning, being at the first site inspection of Cape Wickham before the land was secured and then successfully obtaining the permits for the golf course and designing the initial layout. We fly golfers there throughout the year to enjoy Tasmania’s world class golf courses directly from Essendon Fields Airport,’’ Jon said.

Apart from event hosts Air Adventure and partner Essendon Fields, a number of sponsors also supported the event to enhance its success including Callaway, Drummond Golf, Walkinshaw Sports, King Island Coach Company, Mr McCracken, LaManna Melbourne, Oakley, Bushnell Sharp Airlines, King Island Dairy, Future Golf and more. Prize pool was in excess of $10,000, enticing golfers to put their best putt forward.

Make-A-Wish Australia CEO Sally Bateman said the Essendon Fields’ Golf Classic is an incredibly special event for Make-A-Wish, and she is grateful for everyone’s continued support in helping to grant life-changing wishes for critically ill children across the country.

“It’s annual fundraising events like the Essendon Fields’ Golf Classic that allow us to grant wishes like Bridgette’s, who after being diagnosed with a tumour of the central nervous system, wished for a horse named Prada to take to pony club and learn to ride again,“ said Ms Bateman.  With more than 900 children currently on their wish journey in Australia, there’s never been a more important time to get involved and help make more wishes possible for children like Bridgette.

Essendon Fields CEO Brendan Pihan thanked all the participants in the 2023 Golf Classic.

“This was a fantastic event on world-class golf courses.  What an incredibly generous group supporting Make A Wish.  We look forward to continuing this event in the years to come and we’ve already started planning for 2024,” said Mr Pihan.

“Special thanks to the team at Air Adventure, and all of the partners on King Island.  It is must-visit destination.  And for golfers, the EF King Island Classic is a great way to tick this one off the bucket list”.

“Save the date for 10-11 February 2024!  It will be the best and biggest event yet,” finished Mr Perrett.