\n Craig Hamilton, was diagnosed with Progressive Bulbar Palsy Motor Neuron Disease in December 2024, after first experiencing symptoms around 19 months before.\n<\/p>\n
\n The father of three, who now lives in Workington with his wife Louise, is well known around Cumbria having originally been from Carlisle<\/a>, but made a name for himself around the county, starting as a golf professional aged 17 and becoming the PGA professional at Brampton<\/a>, St Anne’s, Eden and Keswick golf clubs.\n<\/p>\n \n After being a professional golfer for 25 years, he went on to develop\u00a0Whitehaven Golf Club and following that, joined Dobie\u2019s Vauxhall as a car salesman at Lillyhall, before setting up Criag Hamilton Art on Cleator Moor High Street in 2015, which he stepped back from in February 2025 following his diagnosis,\n<\/p>\n \n Craig has since lost his speech and is said to find eating and drinking ‘close to impossible’ and will undergo surgery soon to aid that.\n<\/p>\n \n Now, one of Craig’s friends and fellow pool team member at the Workington Conservative Club, Stuart Robertson has decided to organise a 24 hour ‘poolathon’, where he will play pool for 24 hours, in order to raise funds for MND.\n<\/p>\n \n Speaking about the challenge, he said: “I think it’s Craig that has actually inspired me, I have seen what he has gone through since he has had his diagnosis, and even before his diagnosis.\n<\/p>\n \n “His attitude he had just sort of tackled it head on, trying new things, trying to raise awareness himself. I just seen the way he was going about his life and what he was doing, and I just wanted to do something for him really.”\n<\/p>\n \n Stuart is looking for opponents to play half an hour or one hour slots and a \u00a310 donation for playing him at the Conservative Club in Workington on Friday, July 17 starting at 6pm.\n<\/p>\n