HEAD golf pro at Belmont Hills, Brian Morris, will play a marathon round of golf next week in order to raise money to help a very sick cousin pay her medical bills.

Mr. Morris, (pictured), who is also the head of the Bermuda Professional Golfers Association, will play for 24 hours straight at Belmont starting at 8 a.m. next Thursday.

"I am entering new territory here," he said. "I have played all day before but never for 24 hours straight! But it is the least I can do to help my cousin Lori Mello."

Ms Mello is a 24-year-old Bermudian who was diagnosed with Diffused Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in May of this year.

She has endured numerous rounds of gruelling chemotherapy and radiation treatments to battle the cancer that has ravaged her young body.

Her insurance company is only covering 75 percent of the cost of her treatments ? treatments that will save her life.

Mr. Morris said: "Her family is already facing many thousands of dollars in bills due to travel expenses, the cost of daily living, and outstanding medical bills. Her expenses to date have already exceeded the maximum annual coverage allowed by her insurance company."

Mr. Morris said he imagined that he would play "200-plus holes" before the 24-hour play came to an end at 8 a.m. on Friday.

"It is going to be a golf-a-thon. I am playing by myself but I will have some company to keep me going, people like my Uncle Blip (Morris) and my son. Other people will be bringing me food and coffee to get me through the 24 hours.

"I imagine I will have a lot of blisters on my hands but compared to what Lori is going through it is nothing ? nothing at all. If I had the money myself I would just give it to her. But all I have is my golf and access to a lot of people."

Mr. Morris said he thought about having a golf tournament to raise funds but "you only can raise two or three thousand dollars with a tournament".

He added: "I think I can raise a lot more money this way."

While he will start out with his driver off the tee next Thursday morning Mr. Morris said he believed he would end up hitting irons off the tee.

"I don't know what to expect. I will get a good sleep the night before that's for sure. I just hope I can make it a better Christmas for Lori."

Ms Mello began suffering chest pains over a prolonged period of time and then her physician in Bermuda referred her overseas to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. The diagnosis was given after a large, fast-growing tumour was discovered in her chest cavity.

Since then, she has endured numerous rounds of sick-inducing chemotherapy and radiation treatments to battle the cancer.

Ms Mello's team of oncologists at Dana Farber expected that six rounds of CHOP-R chemotherapy would result in a clean bill of health.

However the young Bermudian was again faced with bad news ? the tumour was still there, and it was growing. She now faces a much more aggressive course of treatment in the hopeful attempts to save her life.

"Lori is no regular young woman. She is extraordinary. She is a fighter and is striving to beat this cancer and is facing the frightening treatments with more bravery than can be imagined," said Mr. Morris.

Contributions can made made to the following:

Rob Burns at MCS Ltd. on 295-0913, ext 221

Kara Medeiros on 534-2509

Lauren Mahoney on 534-2158

Jennifer Morris on 505-2308

Sharon DeSilva (mother) at sharondnorthrock.bm

Mr. Morris added: "We will also be collecting money here at Belmont so on your way to work and on the way home stop by and please give us some dollars. It will be well worth it."