ENGLAND GOLF’S UNSUNG HERO

Who Zung Tang-bennett Why Raised over £6,000 for the Samaritans.

Zung Tang-bennett didn’t expect to have a video call gatecrashed by Tommy Fleetwood, nor did she ever envisage being presented with England Golf’s Unsung Hero Award for 2021. But the former Lady Captain of Faversham Golf Club has been one of the standout stars of the pandemic for the work she carried out on behalf of local charities and isolated members of her club.

As well as setting up a knitting club, Zung and a team of helpers sold £1,000 worth of face masks and provided hats and blankets for the baby unit at a local hospital and homeless charities in and around Canterbury.

She also reached out to members of the Faversham golf community with regular emails, including poetry and jokes to those who were forced to shield or hold back from regular social activities during lockdown.

“I’m gobsmacked and don’t know what to say about winning this,” says Zung. “I don’t feel as if I’ve done that much. There were a couple of others at the club who got the ball rolling with the poetry and jokes. My role was to start the conversation chain. I had a lady at the club who had been shielding. She said to me she used to wake up every day and look forward to the emails from the group.”

Over the last 12 months, Zung has helped raise over £6,000 for the Samaritans after being inspired by talking with two friends who volunteered on the charity’s phone lines.

Fleetwood was one of the first to congratulate Zung on winning the Unsung Hero Award and even agreed to buy a pair of Zung’s hand-knitted headbands.

“I gave him a £2 discount,” she says, laughing. “I was cheeky and also asked for signed pictures in return. I will give them to this year’s captains at the club to auction off for charity.”