smashed a fundraising record at their annual charity tournament.

The Ross Blackie Talbot Charity Invitational Golf Tournament on Friday raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for organisations on the Island that cater for young people.

But golfers taking part exceeded all expectations when they shattered their own fundraising goal of $100,000.

The charity event has become a Bermudian tradition since it first began in 1993 to celebrate Ross "Blackie'' Talbot's birthday.

Ross and his brothers performed as the Talbot Brothers singing group, which toured globally and became an internationally-renowned goodwill ambassador of the Island.

The focus of this year's tournament was the youth of Bermuda. The four charities selected to receive the proceeds were the Family Learning Centre, the Coalition for the Protection of Children, the National Youth Jazz Ensemble and the Bermuda Junior Golf Association.

The charities and organisations were presented with the donations at the Bank of Bermuda by founder and chairman of the annual event Clement E.F. Talbot.

He said: "We are overwhelmed by the generosity of all those who supported this year's tournament and cannot thank them enough.

"It's very rewarding to see the citizens and businesses of Bermuda come together to support our local charities and fellow Bermudians.

"We hope to continue this business of good works and good will for many years to come. Heartfelt thank yous to all who have lent their support.'' He also thanked the sponsors of the event, including the Bank of Bermuda, the ACE Group, Bacardi, Centre Solutions, TeleBermuda International, Shell, and XL Capital, Chateau Elan, Mutual Risk Management Ltd and VCG2 Ltd, and said without their help they could never have surpassed their $100,000 target.

Henry Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Bermuda, said: "With this year's extraordinary donation amount, the Ross Blackie Talbot Charity Invitational Golf Tournament has raised a total of $400,000 for local charities since its inception eight years ago - a remarkable achievement.'' Martha Dismont, executive director of The Family learning Centre, which provides support to families with children aged between five and 12, thanked the fundraisers for the donation the centre received.

She added: "This $25,000 donation could not have come at a better time for us as it will help us to maintain the centre's experiential learning service programme.'' The Coalition for the Protection of Children received $40,000, which will be used to help build a facility for in-house child psychiatric services.

GOLF GLF